The Coroner's Lunch

The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill (2004)

Reader's Annotation

72-year-old Dr. Siri Paiboun becomes national coroner for the newly formed Lao People's Democratic Republic.

Summary

72-year-old Dr. Siri Paiboun is tired. He spent the last fifteen years practicing medicine in the jungle. Ten years ago he lost his wife. He'd much rather retire than start a new career, but, because he is one of the few medical doctors left in Laos and a member of the Communist Party (though an indifferent one), he is appointed state coroner—despite his lack of training as a medical examiner. Dr. Siri decides that if he must take the job, he will not let an ignorant bunch of bureaucrats dictate to him—at his age he has nothing left to lose—he'll follow the evidence wherever it leads.

Dr. Siri's integrity is soon tested when the wife of an important Party official turns up dead at the morgue and the bodies of tortured Vietnamese soldiers are found in a reservoir. With the help of his very intelligent nurse Dtui, his man of all work Geung, who has Down's Syndrome, and the occasional ghost, Dr. Siri follows his curiosity to find and expose corruption.

Evaluation

I found this a well written and charming book as well as an intriguing look at an unfamiliar culture. The Coroner's Lunch is full of interesting and quirky characters, not the least of which is Dr. Siri himself. I enjoyed the mix of logic as Dr. Siri follows the forensic evidence and mysticism as the ghosts of the bodies in the morgue visit his dreams. I'm looking forward to reading the rest in this series.

Those who enjoy the Dr. Siri Paiboun series, may want to try other mysteries set in exotic locales such as Bangkok 8 by John Burdett set in Thailand and The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith set in Botswana.

Genres: Mystery/Crime
Subgenres:

Guilty Pleasures

Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton (1993)

Reader's Annotation

Vampire hunter Anita Blake is hired to find out who has been murdering innocent vampires.

Summary

Anita Blake lives in Saint Louis, Missouri, but it's not exactly our Saint Louis. In Anita's world, magic, vampires, werewolves, and the like are and have always been "out of the closet."  Anita is an animator with the ability to raise and lay to rest zombies. She also works as a vampire executioner; however, in her world, vampires have rights just like anyone else. That means she needs a court order to kill one.

At the story's open, Jean-Claude, master vampire and proprietor of the vampire strip-club Guilty Pleasures, tries to hire Anita to investigate a recent string of vampire murders—the vampires were the victims NOT the perpetrators—but Anita isn't interested; she doesn't like vampires and would much rather be killing them. Jean-Claude, who literally cannot take no for an answer, must blackmail her into taking the job.

Anita finds herself working for Nikolaos, the master vampire of the city. She is a thousand years old, very powerful, and looks like a prepubescent girl. She is not a good boss.

In the curse of her investigation, Anita befriends Philip, a human vampire junkie who strips at Guilty Pleasures. When Nikolaos' minions torture and kill Phillip then bring him back as a zombie, Anita vows to bring Nikolaos down.

By story's end, Anita has not only stopped the vampire killer but also, with Jean-Claude's aid, destroyed Nikolaos, leaving Jean-Claude master vampire of the city.

Evaluation

I enjoyed this book. It was a quick fun read. The writing and plot have a bit of the clunkiness of a first novel but I'd definitely read another. The world of the novel goes beyond just vampires and seems to have the potential to grow into something rich and complex as the series progresses. And I expect to see Anita Blake's relationship with Jean-Claude grow into something more as well. The tone of the writing is hard-boiled with a fair bit of violence, blood, and sex.

If you like this book, you should try Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan series and Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series.

Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery/Crime
Subgenres: Urban Fantasy, Vampire Romance, Paranormal Romance

Faceless Killers

Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell (1991)

Reader's Annotation

When it's leaked that a murder victim's last word was foreign, anti-immigrant sentiments flare.

Summary

When an elderly couple are tortured and killed in their farmhouse in Lunnarp, Sweden, Inspector Kurt Wallander has little to go on. What motive could there have been for killing the elderly farm couple? A possible clue, that the wife's last word may have been foreign, is one that Wallander would really prefer not to deal with. The choice is taken out of his hands when the wife's possible last word is leaked to the media, sparking a wave of anti-immigrant sentiment. A series of anonymous threats culminate in the killing of a Somali refugee, giving Wallander another murder to solve.

Wallander does solve it and begins to make progress on the original case as well. It turns out that the husband had significant money of his own that the wife didn't know about. The final irony is that the original clue was accurate—the murderers were foreign immigrants from Eastern Europe.

Evaluation

This was an accurately drawn police procedural in which solving a case is more about following the leads, doing the work, and not giving up than it is about flashy forensics and brilliant insights. Kurt Wallander is a bit of a sad sack: his wife has left him, his daughter won't talk to him, he's drinking too much, and his father is sinking into dementia. He may not always be very likable but he's a sympathetically well rounded character that is somehow admirable in his dogged determination to keep at these cases even when he seems to be making little progress. The tone of this novel is realistically hard-boiled. The look at issues of immigration in Sweden is interesting.

This series should have a common appeal to fans of other Scandinavian crime novelists such as Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo and, of course, Stieg Larsson. I'd also suggest the Detective Inspector John Rebus stories by Ian Rankin set in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Genres: Mystery/Crime
Subgenres: Police Procedural

Halfway to the Grave

Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost (2007)

Reader's Annotation

Half-vampire Cat hunts vampires hoping one day to kill the one that fathered her.

Summary

Half-vampire Cat Crawfield hunts vampires—any vampires. They're all evil, according to her mother—especially the one that raped her and fathered Cat! Then one day, Cat tries to kill a vampire so old and experienced that she might just as well have been a kitten. But the ancient vampire—Bones is his name—doesn't kill her. Instead he agrees to train her in the art of vampire killing, IF she will agree to kill only evil vampires—the ones he says are evil. Soon she is ready, and together they begin to hunt. As she and Bones fight side by side, Cat begins to think that Bones may not be so evil after all—she may even have feelings for him! But as Cat's feelings for Bones' grow, she worries that her mother will never understand.

Evaluation

I enjoyed this one and intend to try more in the series. The characters are likable—especially Bones—and the action is fun and suspenseful. The world seems likely to develop a richness as the series progresses—ghosts have already been added into the mix. The book does have a good bit of sex and violence including vampiric blood exchange but the descriptions of vampiric sex are brief and don't become tedious as they do in some other vampire romances—at least for my tastes.

If you like this book, you should try Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan series and Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series.

Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery/Crime
Subgenres: Urban Fantasy, Vampire Romance

Night of the Living Deb: A Debutante Drop-Out Mystery

Night of the Living Deb: A Debutante Drop-Out Mystery by Susan McBride (2007)

Reader's Annotation

Debutante drop-out Andrea Kendricks' straight-arrow boyfriend hasn't been seen since he followed a stripper backstage at the local "gentleman's club."

Summary

Andy Kendricks' boyfriend Brian Malone is a defense attorney and as straight-laced as they come. That's why she's surprised to hear that he hasn't been seen since following an exotic dancer backstage at The Men's Club, a local Dallas strip joint. Doubly surprised considering that he was the designated driver for his friend Matty's bachelor party. Brian's co-worker and former girlfriend Allie Price, aka The Blonde Menace, encourages Andy to believe the worst, and, when their investigations at The Men's Club turn up testimony that Brian left through the back door with the stripper—stage name: Trayla Trash—Andy begins to have her doubts.

But when Trayla Trash turns up dead in the trunk of Brian's car, she knows something is very wrong—Brian is no killer. With the help of her posse: Allie Price, Andy's socially-connected mother Cissy, and Cissy's very capable man-friend Stephen, Andy handles a ransom demand, a sleazy strip-club bartender, and a stolen painting to finally rescue her boyfriend Brian.

Evaluation

This novel is a very light read with a humorous tone. Despite the brief naughtiness of the strip club and a Chippendale dancer, it is quite tame with no foul language, explicit sex, or excessive violence. The main character, rebellious rich girl Andrea Kendricks, is a pro-Bono web designer for non-profits, but don't expect any references to Internet culture in this novel. In fact, few of the pop culture references are less than forty years old: Starsky and Hutch, Lost in Space ("Danger, Will Robinson!"), Laugh-In ("One ringy-dingy, two ringy-dingy."). I'd say the Debutante Drop-Out series—this one's #4—is aimed at older women who like a touch of naughty fun. And from the number of positive reviews on Amazon, the series definitely has its fans. However, the main character is a bit passive for my tastes; she's even more inept and dependent on other characters for help than Stephanie Plum. In fact, this seems like the perfect series to read while waiting for the next Stephanie Plum book from Janet Evanovich.

Genres: Mystery/Crime, Chicklit
Subgenres:

A Spark of Death

A Spark of Death by Bernadette Pajer (2011)

Reader's Annotation

In 1901 Seattle, a puzzling electrocution points to murder, and Electrical Engineering Professor Benjamin Bradshaw is the chief suspect.

Summary

In 1901 Seattle, electricity is regarded as new-fangled and dangerous. When University of Washington Professor Benjamin Bradshaw discovers a despised colleague electrocuted inside the Faraday Cage, his knowledge of electrical engineering makes him the prime suspect. Bradshaw knows that the facts don't add up but in the court of public opinion he has already been found guilty. Then when someone tries to send Bradshaw over the waterfall at the Snoqualmie Falls Power Plant, he knows that the electrocution was surely no accident. Could the murder somehow be related to President McKinley's planned visit to the University of Washington for an electrical demonstration? Could anarchists be involved?

Evaluation

This was a fun mystery with good period detail and no obvious errors in the electrical engineering science. Professor Benjamin Bradshaw made for an interesting and appealing amateur sleuth.

If you like the Professor Benjamin Bradshaw mysteries, you may enjoy The Strange Case Files of Fremont Jones about a woman who sets herself up as a professional "type-writer" in turn-of-the-century San Francisco.

Genres: Mystery/Crime, Historical
Subgenres:

Tishomingo Blues by Elmore Leonard (2002)

Reader's Annotation

Daredevil diver Dennis Lenahan witnesses a Dixie Mafia hit from the top of his eighty-foot ladder.

Summary

 Dennis Lenahan makes his living as a high diver. He likes to tell people that if you put a fifty-cent piece on the floor and look down at it, that's what the tank looks like from the top of that eighty-foot steel ladder. He mostly puts on his show at amusement parks but now he's about to start an eight-week gig at the Tishomingo Lodge & Casino in Tunica, Mississippi.

Before he's even had a chance to do his first show, Dennis witnesses a hit by the Dixie Mafia from the top rung of his ladder. The Dixie Mafia know what he saw, and so does Robert Taylor, a Detroit gangster who wants to move in on Dixie territory. Robert recruits Dennis to join him against the Dixie Mafia in a Civil War re-enactment to be played out with real bullets, a true showdown between the North and the South.

Evaluation

This is a typical Elmore Leonard hard-boiled crime novel with the usual brilliantly realistic dialog, very stupid criminals, and not-so-bad guys versus the really bad guys plot. If you like Tishomingo Blues, try Leonard's Get Shorty and Freaky Deaky. Then when you've had your fill of Elmore Leonard, try the Hap and Leonard series by Joe R. Lansdale (starting with Savage Season) and the Parker novels of Richard Stark (a pseudonym of Donald E. Westlake).

If books with violence, foul language, and sex bother you, avoid Elmore Leonard.

Genres: Mystery/Crime
Subgenres: Hard-Boiled Crime

Murder in the Marais

Murder in the Marais by Cara Black (1998)

Reader's Annotation

The past won't stay buried as private investigator Aimee Leduc investigates a murder in the old Jewish quarter of Paris.

Summary

Paris, 1993. Computer forensics expert Aimee Leduc has promised the old Nazi-hunter that she will deliver the decrypted photo only into the hands of Lili Stein. Unfortunately when Aimee finds the elderly Jewish woman, she is dead with a swastika carved into her forehead. Since Aimee can no longer deliver the photo, she determines to solve the mystery of Lili Stein's murder instead. As Aimee's investigations take her from Holocaust survivors to NeoNazis to Nazi collaborators, she solves a fifty-year-old murder, reunites a Holocaust survivor, her ex-Nazi lover, and the child she gave up many years ago, and exposes a Nazi collaborator now high in the French government.

Evaluation

This is a very flawed first novel. First the good: The descriptions of Paris are vividly detailed and give the novel a strong sense of place. You could easily follow Aimee Leduc's movements throughout the city. The historical information about the Marais during World War II is interesting and seems well researched. Now the bad: Aimee is supposed to be a computer forensics expert, yet nearly every scene involving computers contains not just errors but absurdities. It's surprising that an author who clearly went to great lengths to research Paris and its history did not trouble to gain even the most basic understanding of how computers work. Worse than the computer absurdities, however, is that the novel has far too many poorly fleshed out characters. Aimee's partner Rene is a major example. Finally, the author seemed to struggle to settle on a tone, ranging from very serious when the story touched on the Holocaust and Nazi collaborators to completely over the top when Aimee ran about the roofs of Paris in high heals or tromped through the sewers.

People who love Paris may enjoy this book as a way to re-experience and reconnect with that city. Those who enjoy the Stephanie Plumb novels of Janet Evanovich may also enjoy this novel for its over-the-top heroine.

Genres: Mystery/Crime
Subgenres: