A PI Caper Worth Reading

When Mystery Readers of Visalia picked the theme of foreign intrigue for the month of September, I went to my book shelf thinking I must have a book that would fit the category. We could pick a story that had taken place in a foreign country or written was by an author from another country. Sure enough, I found Dying Day by James Mitchell. Written in 1988, it’s one of his older mysteries. This author wrote some 36 other mystery/suspense novels under several pseudonyms, including James Munro.

The main character in Dying Day is Ron Hoggart, a London based private investigator who specialized in finding things for people. In this case he was hired to find a lost airplane, one that had been lost 40 years earlier, a daunting task. But with the help of his friend and sidekick, Dave, he digs into finding information about the plane and the former RAF pilots involved.

As he pursues a trail that leads all the way back to World War II and the Berlin Airlift, it’s evident that something very valuable was on the lost plane, and someone is willing to kill to keep Hoggart from finding it. Within a few weeks, the bodies pile up. Each time he interviews someone with information he needs, they end up dead. Before long, he finds himself a target.

At the center of the puzzle is the pilot, Bill Day. The question that surfaces is whether or not this Royal Air Force hero had turned smuggler and thief before landing at the bottom of the ocean off Scotland. Hoggart stalks the ghosts of wartime England from Italy, Scotland and southern France to uncover the reason behind the murders, a fortune in gold.

I enjoyed this book. It’s a fast-paced caper designed to keep the reader turning pages. I liked the puzzle, the action, and the humor. The first-person style was fresh and lively. I’ll put James Mitchell on my list of writers I want to read again.

Mystery Readers - The Expats by Chris Pavone

The Mystery Readers group I belong to decided we’d all read the same book this month, and the choice was The Expats, a spy novel. I confess I enjoyed it very much, though I had to pay close attention to detail.

The primary character in the story is woman named Kate, who is married and has two sons. The setting, in the beginning, is Paris, current day and time. A woman calls out her name. Kate then described the woman and the surroundings, and at end the chapter reveals that this woman is a threat to her because her family has been living with false identities.

Then the story flashes back in time two years when the family was living in the U.S. and her husband says he has a new job that will require a move to Luxemburg. At that point the reader learns that Kate has kept information about her past from her husband, the fact that she has been working for the CIA.

The next section details her resignation from “the agency,” the family’s move to Europe, the people they meet, and the fact that her husband is evasive when she asks about the nature of his new job and his frequent trips to other cities.

Because of Kate’s background, and his frequent absences, she becomes bored with the life of a housewife. She begins to be suspicious of their new friends, their seemingly ordinary activities, and even her husband. Tension increases when she starts to dig for clues about what was really going on and culminates in a reveal that is bizarre and unexpected.

It took a very gifted writer to manage a twisted tale that shifts back and forth through time without leaving the reader confused. It’s a book I can recommend.

Kindred Crimes by Janet Dawson. My choice for September

The Friends of the Library Mystery Readers Group in Visalia decided to choose a new-to-you mystery for September, which meant the members could pick a new book by a favorite author, or a book by a new-to-you author.

I chose Kindred Crimes, Janet Dawson’s debut mystery. Kindred Crimes was nominated for Shamus, Anthony and Macavity Awards in 1991 and won St. Martin’s Press/Private Eye Writers of America contest.

A simple missing person case turns out to be more complicated than San Francisco P.I., Jeri Howard, ever thought it would be. Jeri is hired by Richard Foster to find his missing wife, Renee. The woman left their son with his mother and disappeared. During the first few days of searching, Jeri learns that Renee isn’t the woman’s real name, but when she reports that to Richard, he fires her. Normally, that would be the end of it. Not for Jeri. She doesn’t like being fired and she doesn’t like leaving a case unfinished. It’s evident that Richard’s parents are pulling the strings, that they hate the missing woman, and believe she’s guilty of child abuse. Is it true? Jeri is all the more determined to find her.

Thus begins this fast paced mystery, leading the reader from one page to the next like a chicken following a line of corn kernels. Using the missing woman’s real name, Jeri probes into Renee’s family background and learns that years earlier the missing woman’s brother murdered their parents. He plead guilty and went to jail without any explanation.

Before long Jeri has located other family members and one of them, the aunt who raised Renee, hires Jeri to find her. The trail of bread crumbs (or corn kernels) leads to the brother, now out of jail, and a troubled younger sister, who seems to hold the key to the unfortunate family saga. Along the way, Jeri uncovers a blackmail scheme; gets beat up by a couple of thugs, and is shot at by a killer. When push comes to shove, Jeri Howard is a pretty tough lady and can handle herself well.

Even though I guessed the core of the mystery early on, I enjoyed this book because of the fast moving pace and the characters. In fact, I’ve already loaded the next in the series to my Kindle.

Mystery Readers book for April

The Mystery Readers group I belong to chose to read a mystery either written by a California author or a mystery that takes place in California. I chose Silence is Golden by Penny Warner. Warner's feisty heroine, Connor Westphal, is deaf and that's the unique part about the book. Warner carries off the disability with style. The fact that Connor can't hear, but gets along very well anyway, is very refreshing. The story takes place in Flat Skunk, a town situated in gold country. When local prospector, Sluice Jackson, finds gold in an old mine, the town is flooded with gold seekers. Soon after a gold tooth is found at the same site, a skelton is unearthed and Sluice claims that it is his great-grandfather who went missing for 150 years ago. A murder follows (of course) and an attempted murder, which Connor must solve. It was a fun read with good natured eccentrics and a little romance for good measure.

What I'm Reading

I'm a bit behind on my blog. After fighting the flu virus for 2 weeks, I'm finally feeling better, so I thought I'd talk about one of my favorite groups. I belong to the Mystery Readers at the library. Unlike most book groups, we pick a theme, not a specific book or author. This month the book was supposed to have cold weather setting. I have a closet full of books, so I had no trouble finding one to fit the bill. I settled on A Shadow on the Snow by Dorothy Bodoin. Perhaps I'll make some comments about it in a later blog.