Archives by Tag 'Mystery'
Review: ‘Black Butterfly’ by Mark Gatiss
I don’t often stray into the world of mystery stories. In our (reasonably extensive) library, there is only one shelf of mystery novels tucked away in a corner. It’s not that I don’t like them per se, it’s just that there are other genres that I prefer. However, I can occasionally be tempted by a [...]
Review: ‘The Sign of Four’ by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Title: Author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Published: Headline Review, 2006, pp. 146. Original publication 1890. Genre: Classic mystery fiction Blurb: As the seamy streets of London drown in a sea of smog, Sherlock Holmes sinks into a drug-induced stupour. That is, until Miss Mary Morstan presents him with a most intriguing case. A terrible death, [...]
Review: ‘A Study in Scarlet’ by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Title: Author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Published: Headline Review, 2006, pp. 164 Genre: Classic mystery fiction Blurb: Arriving in the wilderness of London and in need of lodgings, Dr John Watson finds himself living at 221b Baker Street with one Sherlock Holmes. When a corpse is discovered in a derelict house Watson, fascinated by his [...]
Review: ‘The Woman in White’ by Wilkie Collins
Title: The Woman in White Author: Wilkie Collins Published: Penguin,1974, pp. 648 Genre: Classic mystery fiction Blurb: Wilkie Collins’ sixth novel took the fashionable world by storm on its appearance in 1860 when everything from dances to dresses was named after the ‘woman in white’. Its continuing power to fascinate stems in part from a distinctive [...]
Review: ‘The Thirteenth Tale’ by Diane Setterfield
Title: The Thirteenth Tale Author: Diane Setterfield Published: Orion, 2007, pp. 470 Genre: Historical gothic mystery Blurb: Angelfield House stands abandoned and forgotten. It was once the imposing home of the March family – fascinating, manipulative Isabelle, Charlie, her brutal and dangerous brother, and the wild, untamed twins, Emmeline and Adeline. But Angelfield House conceals [...]
Review: ‘Murder with Peacocks’ by Donna Andrews
Title: Murder with Peacocks Author: Donna Andrews Published: St Martin’s Paperbacks, 1999, pp. 311 Genre: Contemporary mystery Blurb:So far Meg Langslow’s summer is not going swimmingly. Down in her small Virginia hometown, she’s maid of honor at the nuptials of three loved ones — each of whom has dumped the planning in hercapable hands. One [...]
Review: ‘The Devil in Amber’ by Mark Gatiss
Lucifer Box – portraitist, dandy and terribly good secret agent – is feeling his age. He’s also more than a little anxious about an ambitious younger agent, Percy Flarge, who’s snapping at his heels. Assigned to observe the activities of fascist leader Olympus Mons and his fanatical followers, or “Amber Shirts,” in F.A.U.S.T. – The [...]
Review: ‘The Vesuvius Club’ by Mark Gatiss
Meet Lucifer Box: Equal parts James Bond and Sherlock Holmes, with a twist of Monty Python and a dash of Austin Powers, Lucifer has a charming countenance and rapier wit that make him the guest all hostesses must have. And most do. But few of his conquests know that Lucifer is also His Majesty’s most [...]
Review: ‘The Silver Pigs’ by Lindsey Davis
When Marcus Didius Falco, a Roman “informer” who has a nose for trouble that’s sharper than most, encounters Sosia Camillina in the Forum, he senses immediately all is not right with the pretty girl. She confesses to him that she is fleeing for her life, and Falco makes the rash decision to rescue her—a decision [...]
Review: ‘The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
Millennium publisher Mikael Blomkvist has made his reputation exposing corrupt establishment figures. So when a young journalist approaches him with an investigation into sex trafficking, Blomkvist cannot resist waging war on the powerful figures who control this lucrative industry. When a young couple are found dead in their Stockholm apartment, it’s a straightforward job for [...]