Tension and Murder

Literary Murder 

by Batya Gur

"The tension in the hall had slackened, as if the lights had gone out." - Batya Gur, a "Literary Murder"

Batya Gur's "Literary Murder: A Critical Case" is a cerebral, intensely atmospheric police procedural that strikes a balance between a sharp sociological critique of Israeli academia and a conventional whodunit framework. The story centers on Chief Superintendent Michael Ohayon of the Jerusalem Serious Crimes Unit, a moody and intelligent man. He is asked to look into a startling double murder that takes place at Hebrew University Secondary School over the course of a single weekend. During a scuba diving excursion in Eilat, Iddo Dudai, a bright young lecturer, is subtly poisoned. In his campus office, Shaul Tirosh, the head of the Hebrew Literature Department and a highly regarded poet and cultural icon, is brutally bludgeoned to death. As Ohayon delves deeper, he must negotiate a closed-off, fiercely protective ecosystem where intellectual hierarchy, tenure, and artistic jealousy foster a murderous environment.

Readers who anticipate a thriller with lots of action and adrenaline may be disappointed. In order to allow the psychological tension to develop gradually through dialogue and character analysis, Gur purposefully takes a slow, methodical pace. Gur has a master's degree in Hebrew literature, so her portrayals of university life are very real. The book includes in-depth discussions and lengthy lectures on literary hermeneutics. These scenes are a great way to ground the world, but some mystery fans might find them a little boring. Ohayon is a particularly interesting, complex protagonist. He reads suspects like texts using his knowledge of literature and history, revealing their closely guarded secrets and hidden weaknesses. Readers who are patient will find this murder mystery to be a very intricate, slow-burning procedural. Anyone who enjoys a cerebral, atmospheric mystery in which the psychological terrain is as perilous as the crime should definitely pick it.

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Abrupt Disappearance

Into the Blue 

by Robert Goddard

“The dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow.”  --- Robert Goddard

The protagonist of the story is Harry Barnett, a middle-aged, run-down Englishman who looks after a friend's villa on the Greek island of Rhodes and leads a somewhat unsuccessful life. He is frequently characterized as a flawed but tenacious "underdog" who finds meaning in his pursuit. The abrupt and unexplained disappearance of Heather Mallender, a young visitor to the villa, while out on a mountain hike serves as the plot's impetus. Harry turns into the main suspect.

Harry, who is obsessed with the mystery and determined to clear his name, starts tracking Heather's whereabouts, which brings him back to England and makes him face a previous scandal involving the Mallender family. Heather takes a series of photos that contain clues that help with the investigation.

The narrative delves into themes of identity, confronting the past, hypocrisy, and how long-forgotten events can still impact the present. The plot involves a web of betrayal, political connections, and long-buried secrets. I would recommend this novel as an excellent, literate, and engrossing mystery/thriller that highlights a character study of a flawed hero with its expertly constructed, twisting plot

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Winter Mystery

Elegy for April 

by Benjamin Black

"It was the worst of winter weather, and April Latimer was missing." - Benjamin Black







The novel is less of a conventional whodunit and more of an atmospheric character study, with a focus on the relationships between the characters, particularly the fragile one between the protagonist, Dr. Quirke, and his recently discovered daughter, Phoebe.

The author has an ability to evoke the mood of 1950s Dublin, with its foggy streets, repressed society, and underlying tensions. His writing is elegant, precise, and beautiful, elevating the book beyond a typical crime novel. While the characters, especially Quirke, are complex and well-developed. The novel delves into Quirke's personal struggles with alcoholism and his difficult relationship with Phoebe, which adds a powerful emotional layer to the story.

Overall, I recommend "Elegy for April" for its literary quality and its atmospheric portrayal of a city and its people.

Regrets from Time Past

I Have Some Questions for You 

by Rebecca Makkai

“it was easier to believe she was lying than that lightning loves a scarred tree.”   ― Rebecca Makkai, I Have Some Questions For You

This was a real challenge for me from beginning to end. I can't say that I was thrilled to read this book, even though I managed to slowly proceed through it. I was not inspired to flip the pages, and I wished the story had been more interesting. I persisted because I don't give up easily and was curious to find out what really happened before the murder and if justice would be served in the end. Unfortunately, the second-person narration didn't exactly work for this particular story, and I frequently felt like the prose was wandering.

I can say that, without giving too much away, I was quite impressed by how true to reality the novel was. Even though we always want our books to have poetic justice and perfect endings, this one chose a conclusion that, although not perfect, may be more realistic than what actually happens. That having been said, I cannot recommend this novel, as I felt it had too many flaws.

Insights and Discoveries

The Heart in Exile 

by Rodney Garland

"It was all clear now, or at least as clear as it could be. I had discovered and could explain many things, but there was so much, of course, that I could never hope to explain."  - Rodney Garland, The Heart in Exile

Although this book is a mystery set in the gay community of post-World War II London, it is much more than that. It explores the nature of love and the very personal truths experienced by homosexuals, as well as the gay life, which was necessarily an underworld in London at the time. It is this second aspect of the book that allows it to rise above the average sentimental story. This book is intensely about the lives of a psychiatrist and his former lover, who was found dead from what appeared to be an overdose of sleeping pills. The doctor's investigation into what happened led to revelations about himself that profoundly affected his life.

This book, which examined the variety of homosexual life in London and offered a touching account of how one might transform his life in unexpected ways when faced with the ups and downs of daily existence, captivated me. It was both fascinating and profoundly touching.

The World of the Kabbalah

The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon 

by Richard Zimler

“God comes to each of us in the form we can best perceive Him. To you, just now, He was a heron. To someone else, He might come as a flower or even a breeze.”   ― Richard Zimler, The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon

In the novel The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon, which is set during the Lisbon Massacre of April 1506, the reader is transported into the mysterious world of kabbalah. A few years prior, Portuguese Jews were coerced into becoming Christians and brought to the baptismal font. Many of these "New Christians" conducted their rituals in secret and at considerable peril, while the kabbalists' secret, mysterious rites also persisted.

Berekiah Zarco, a youthful manuscript illuminator, was one of these hidden Jews. He seeks the assassin of his adored uncle Abraham, a renowned kabbalist found dead in a secret synagogue along with a young girl in deshabille, driven by love and retribution. Berekiah searches for answers among Christians, New Christians, Jews, and his uncle's fellow kabbalists, risking his life in dangerous alleys as they alternately illuminate and obscure the path to the truth he seeks.

The world of sixteenth century Lisbon and the Jewish Kabbalah comes to life in this historical mystery. The young manuscript illustrator, Zarco, is effectively portrayed as he attempts to find out who killed his uncle. His search takes him into the world of Kabbalists and with it brings the reader into a world of secret languages and codes. It was an award winner for best First U.S. historical mystery of the year and I agree that it gives the reader a flavor for a very different time and place. Anyone who has enjoyed Arturo Perez-Reverte or Umberto Eco will like Zimler's suspenseful tale.

Playing With Mystery

The School of Night 

by Louis Bayard

“What is a holy mass, Tom, if not a play? A wedding? A coronation? do you wish to know why I am a playmaker? Because I know that, at every moment, we are in the midst of some play. Only in an arena that calls itself theater may we stand outside the real theater - our lives - and we see them in all their truth, Tom. By which, if course, I mean their tragedy.”  ― Louis Bayard, The School of Night

I enjoy historical novels especially when they involve mystery and intrigue. An Instance of the Fingerpost by Ian Pears comes to mind as a particular favorite. Bayard's novel is similar while adding a contemporary mystery with its counterpart set at the end of the Elizabethan era.

Henry Cavendish is a disgraced Elizabethan scholar, fooled by a forgery of a poem supposedly written by Walter Raleigh. As a result, Henry has chosen to turn to tutoring and odd jobs in Washington, D.C. As the story begins he has reconnected with Alonzo Wax, a college friend and a book collector. The eccentric Wax, perhaps the most interesting character in the novel, has purloined part of a letter that sheds light on the fabled "School of Night", a secret congregation of illustrious Elizabethan-era intellects like Raleigh, Christopher Marlowe and a brilliant but little-known scientist named Thomas Harriot. The school delved into theology, philosophy and science perhaps bordering on alchemy, in a manner thought traitorous and blasphemous. Wax apparently commits suicide, but he also reveals his discovery to Cavendish, and to Clarissa Dale, a woman Wax met at a lecture who claims psychic visions of Harriot, and to another antique book collector.

At Wax's memorial service, Henry is approached by the supposed owner of the letter, an English antiquities collector named Bernard Styles, and offered a handsome sum to find and return the letter. No sooner than he starts to inquire about this Wax's devoted assistant is murdered and Wax's collection is stolen. Henry and Clarissa uncover clues that lead them to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, near where Harriot studied Native Americans during the failed attempt to establish an English colony. There they find Wax in hiding, claiming the letter points to a treasure. Clues then lead the trio to Syon House in England, the ancestral seat of the Earl of Northumberland, where Harriot once lived.

Through all of the contemporary adventures there are flashbacks provided in interpolated chapters set in the historical Elizabethan era featuring Thomas Harriot and his love, Margaret Crookshanks. The combination of the ancient mystery, lost treasure, and suspenseful intrigue, make this an historical novel that I can recommend to all.

A Violin and Murder

The Rainaldi Quartet 

by Paul Adam

You expect the momentous events in life to provide some kind of warning. You expect to have some presage of what's about to happen, to be prepared for it when it hits you. But I wasn't prepared. None of us was.  - Paul Adam, The Rainaldi Quartet




This mystery involves a valuable violin and multiple murders in contemporary Italy.

Shortly after playing a short composition by Beethoven with his friends Tomaso Rainaldi, a retired professional musician and sometime violin teacher, and Antonio Guastafeste, a local detective; Gianni Castiglione, an elderly luthier (that is, a craftsman of stringed instruments), receives a suspicious call at his Lombardy countryside home from Rainaldi’s wife Clara. His friend hasn’t come home and he is soon found stabbed near his abandoned car. Guastafeste, a generation younger than narrator Castiglione or Rainaldi, returns when he’s assigned to the case. Because Castiglione’s technical knowledge makes him useful as a valuable resource, he accompanies Guastafeste on his investigation, which begins with Venetian violin collector Dottor Forlani. The curious collector lives in squalor but spends a small fortune on instruments. They learn that Rainaldi had contacted Forlani about acquiring a valuable violin known as the “Messiah’s Sister.” Not long after their visit, Forlani is also murdered by a nefarious and mysterious persona as ruthless as he is determined. The mystery’s trail, which includes old letters and older tombs, leads Gianni through a network of auction houses and black-market dealings across Italy and western Europe, reaching its denouement at Casale Monferrato, the cement capital of Italy.

Well-paced storytelling perfectly suits the subtle pleasures of this tale. The author offers plenty of European history and an immersion in a subculture of the classical music world as well as a pleasant mystery.

Apocalyptic Background

The Last Policeman 

by Ben H. Winters

“tune out the terror and the dread, in a world where the idea of long-term consequences had magically disappeared.”   ― Ben H. Winters, The Last Policeman




Sometimes a book spans genres. This is one example where what is primarily a mystery, and an award-winning one, is also a science fiction tale. The setting is in New Hampshire about six months before a large asteroid will collide with the earth. The expectation is that human civilization will be wiped out. Given this background the narrative is told in the first person by rookie Detective Henry (Hank) Palace.

Hank is presented with a case that looks like a suicide, and suicides have begun to occur with some regularity in response to the imminent demise of civilization. But Hank has his doubts and these doubts fuel his determined search for evidence that the subject, and insurance actuary named Peter Zell, was not a suicide but rather the victim of murder. The District Attorney is skeptical but Hank is given a green light to pursue the case wherever is leads. The narrative is fueled by people motivated by the impending disaster, including Hank's sister in a sub-plot, and enough potential suspects to maintain the readers interest. It doesn't hurt that Hank is a reasonable and friendly guy who the reader, this one at least, develops a liking for.

The mystery is well-drawn with plenty of unexpected moments that lead Hank in different directions until his determination leads him to a final answer to his quest. The author's version of a pre-apocalyptic world, one where laws are both absolute and irrelevant, is believable. In it even minor players have major control over what could be a new future. The imminent end of the world doesn’t mean that everyone has shown their hands—just that there’s a lot more at stake if they lose. The result is a satisfying mystery with the added plus (for those like myself) of a science fiction context.  

Powerful Insights

Still Life: 

A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel 

by Louise Penny

“Life is choice. All day, everyday. Who we talk to, where we sit, what we say, how we say it. And our lives become defined by our choices. It's as simple and as complex as that. And as powerful. so when I'm observing that's what I'm watching for. The choices people make”  ― Louise Penny, Still Life





Both my sister and a good friend recommended that I read the mysteries of Louise Penny; so I decided to start with her first Chief Inspector Gamache novel. I was not disappointed.

The mystery is set in a small town in rural Canada.  The narrative introduces Armand Gamache of the Sorete du Quebec. The mystery proper begins with the discovery of the body of Jane Neal, a middle-aged artist, near a woodland trail used by deer hunters outside the village of Three Pines. Upon first investigation it appears she was the victim of a hunting accident. Soon Gamache, an appealingly competent senior homicide investigator, is summoned. He is able to determine that this was not an accident but the woman was most likely murdered. The narrative continues as clues are slowly uncovered while the residents of Three Pines are introduced. Some of them come under suspicion while the suspense builds with each piece of new evidence.

I enjoyed the author's development of a variation on the theme of the clue hidden in plain sight. She also introduces the bilingual, bi-cultural aspect of Quebecois life as well as arcane aspects of archery and art to deepen her narrative. Most of all there are memorable characters whose relationships make the mystery more compelling as they and their interrelationships are gradually revealed.

This is a mystery filled with intriguing insights that develops a good foundation for further exploits of Armand Gamache. I would recommend this author's first novel, which was the runner-up for the CWA's Debut Dagger Award in 2004, to all readers who enjoy a good mystery.

Art and Chess

The Flanders Panel 
by Arturo Pérez-Reverte



“Chess is all about getting the king into check, you see. It's about killing the father. I would say that chess has more to do with the art of murder than it does with the art of war.”    ― Arturo Pérez-Reverte, The Flanders Panel



This was the first of Arturo Perez-Reverte's books that I read and it was a great beginning.  While he is a popular author in Spain he was not as well known in the United States prior to the success of this novel.  At the center of the story is Julia, an art restorer who discovers a strange inscription on a Flemish painting and becomes drawn into a solving the mystery that is poses. While restoring "The Game of Chess", a painting by the fifteenth century Flemish master Pieter Van Huys, she uncovers the hidden inscription: "Who killed the knight?" Intrigued, she goes to her ex-lover, art historian Alvaro, for background information. Alvaro dies soon afterward under suspicious circumstances.

To solve the mystery of Alvaro's death Julia must first unravel the enigma of the painting and the complicated relations of the lives of the people depicted in the painting. The narrative effectively covers her struggles with this mystery as Spanish author Perez-Reverte analyzes the painting in great detail. Many questions are raised in this process. What were the chess moves that led to the position depicted in the painting? How will the game play out? The murderer taunts her by dropping notes to Julia, and each new move is reflected in threatening events around her. I was held in suspense as the narrative kept me oriented with diagrams of the board as positions changed and pieces were taken. There is the challenge of the chess problem as well as the murder mystery.

The milieu of museum curators and experts and auctioneers provides a convincing setting; the historical background is informative and entertaining. There is a marvelous intertwining of symbol with reality that makes The Flanders Panel a unique and intelligent mystery. It creates a sense of mystery that evokes John Fowles' The Magus or Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49 from my reading memory. It was well-researched and suspenseful and my enjoyment of it led me to seek out other books by this author, among which I would recommend The Club Dumas.

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Return to Wilkie Collins

The Woman in White
by Wilkie Collins





My reading of Wilkie Collins started with The Moonstone. It’s often credited with being the first “detective novel,” but it isn’t. It is considered a classic, but it’s boring and poorly plotted.  I do not remember why I read it.   About a year ago I finally read another novel by Wilkie Collins, The Woman in White.  While perhaps the least needing of publicity, it seems to be the best book with which to introduce Wilkie Collins to the uninitiated.

It was originally published serially in Charles Dicken’s magazine All The Year Round in 1859, and then in book form in 1860, heralded the arrival of the “sensation novel.” The book was an instant smash. Indeed, since its publication, it has never been out of print.  Other authors quickly followed his lead, working from the genre’s central technique: infusing the domestic sphere with a Gothic stream of mystery, secrets, dark intentions and deep anxiety about sexuality and identity.  Collins, however, remained peerless in creating thrills and developing character. His dialogue is so crisp, his backdrops so vivid, and his pacing so suspenseful that he foreshadows an entirely new medium of storytelling: cinema.  His prose is remarkably modern and a breeze to read. His female characters are particularly sympathetic and fascinating. Upon the publication of The Woman in White, one male reader wrote to Collins to demand the identity of the woman who had inspired the character of “Marian Halcombe.” Besotted by her intelligence and mystique, he wanted to ask for her hand in marriage. Alas for the fan, she sprang entirely from Collins’s mind.  

As the story opens, our hero, Walter Hartwright, encounters a woman – in white—on a lonely road at midnight. She asks him the way to London. Despite her ghostly garb, she is quite human. She speaks with intensity borne of fear, referring vaguely to a predator lurking nearby. This spooky meeting is a hallmark of Collins’s work: he juxtaposes Gothic chill with human vulnerability. 

The Woman in White is told from multiple perspectives, beginning with Walter’s.  It is on his way to Limmeridge House to work as a drawing master to Marian Halcombe and her sister, Laura Fairlie, that he meets the woman in white. It is but his first glimpse of her, and far more unsettling events lie in wait.  When Count Fosco and Sir Percival Glyde arrive at Limmeridge, the plot accelerates and the pages fly. Eventually, Marian must go to war with the Count. In a twist characteristic of Collins’s novels, a man falls for a plain-looking woman because he admires her brain. The Count’s romantic yearning for Marian, who detests him, is one of the most fascinating portraits of love to be found in Victorian literature, for the Count is a cynic and Marian is anything but a fair damsel painted in a soft hue.  

There’s a lot of plot in this book including eavesdropping in the rain, kidnappings, asylums, mistaken identities, whispered warnings, severe emotional suffering and (possibly) murder before the book reaches its final confrontation. There is also great love and tremendous perseverance. And the book possesses the rarest of traits in suspense novels: an utterly satisfying conclusion.

Next, read No Name, in which young Magdalen goes undercover to fight a law that deprives her of her rights, encountering danger and evil at every turn. Read Basil, in which Collins explores the contours of infidelity and society’s differing attitudes toward the sexuality of men and women. Then find all the rest of them and you will have a year’s worth of dizzying plots and compelling characters to keep you company. But start with The Woman in White; it is the most famous of Collins’s tales and deservedly so.

Books Fade into the Ethernet

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore 
by Robin Sloan


“After that, the book will fade, the way all books fade in your mind. But I hope you will remember this:

A man walking fast down a dark lonely street. Quick steps and hard breathing, all wonder and need. A bell above a door and the tinkle it makes. A clerk and a ladder and warm golden light, and then: the right book exactly, at exactly the right time.”   ― Robin Sloan, Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore



The story begins with an unemployed young techie with an art school degree who spends his days browsing the web for want-ads, among other things, and reading--mostly the latter. He is Clay Jannon and his life is changed when he starts walking around his home base of San Francisco and happens upon a strange-looking bookstore with a sign in the window:
"HELP WANTED: Late Shift, Specific Requirements, Good Benefits"
The name of the bookstore is "Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore".
The adventure Clay begins when he decides to take that job is initially beyond his imagination.  It combines elements of fantasy, mystery, friendship and adventure as a way of looking at the modern conflict and transition between new technology (electronic) and old (print books).   It requires him to cooperate and sometimes scheme with new friends in pursuing elusive clues.  At the heart of the novel is the collision of that old-world handwork and the automated digital age.

The new technology is very Google-oriented as Clay, soon after becoming comfortable in his new job, meets a Google employee named Kat who impresses him with her programming ability. Clay is forbidden to open the books yet required to describe the borrowers in great detail to the owner, Alex Penumbra. Late-night boredom catalyzes his curiosity, and soon Clay discovers that the books are part of a vast code.  And it is not long before they are investigating the secrets of the strange bookstore. For it is strange in that it sells very few books and seems to exist for a mysterious society of book lovers who form a club that has access to private stacks in the back of the store. The secrets hidden in the books stretch back to the initial revolution in printing started by Gutenberg. It is this and other mysteries that create the suspense that sustains this lightweight but definitely interesting first novel.

Intertwined among the mysteries is Clay's love for an obscure fantasy novel by Clark Moffat called The Dragon-Song Chronicles. There is no way to say much more about the complicated plot without giving away too much of the enjoyment of discovering along with Clay the secrets behind the 24-Hour Bookstore.
This is an entertaining book that will appeal to both fantasy lovers and those who like mysteries. With its focus on the latest internet technology the story presents an interesting analogy between the printing revolution begun by Gutenberg and the digital revolution in books as it is being promoted by Google and other internet behemoths. 

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Eerie Encounters

An Autumn Story 
by Tommaso Landolfi


"I looked forward to nightfall, which might possibly enlighten me.  Meanwhile, I made a firm and nasty decision to pay no attention whatsoever to the old man's threats, and to pursue my investigation." (72)


The narrator of this war-time tale is a fugitive. As the novella opens the narrator is being chased and after going further and further into forest clad ravines that are foreign and strange to him he encounters an eerie mansion in the woods. He explores around the grounds and almost immediately encounters two ferocious wolfhounds. Ultimately an old man appears and lets him enter. The strangeness of the place grows slowly with the fugitive narrator soon feeling that the house itself was alive:
"Climbing over a mountain, the sun had finally reached the window. But the window seemed, if I may put it this way, surprised and annoyed by that torrent of light. Every single object appeared virtually stupefied--I might almost say: bewildered." (36)
The fugitive is allowed to stay by the old man and later he has a chance to explore "every nook and cranny of the place." His exploration leads him to a room with a large portrait of a woman that almost instantly mesmerizes him. He describes the portrait in detail but finds "the most vivid and disturbing element was her huge, dark eyes. Their deep gaze seemed to have the same character as the old man's gaze and, hence, that of the dogs: It was animated by the same gloom, indeed a more imperious one, and, simultaneously, by the same remote and pitiable bewilderment,if not desperation. The common character, therefore had to be due to a more subtle kinship than that of blood, if man and beast were on a par here. And yet her gaze spoke on infinity of other languages to the senses and the heart! Her eyes seemed intensely magnetic, and I was unable to look away."(45-46)

This is only one third of the way into the story, and the mysteries continue to build as the fugitive has further encounters with the presence of this eldritch place at the edge of the world. The motifs of eyes, gazes, gloom, and disturbance abound as the enigmatic experiences of the fugitive heighten the tension.  We gradually learn more about the background of the old man, and more about his strange mansion, and the discovery of a woman in the mansion:  
"Curling, twisting, thickening, the smoke gave way to a large female figure emerging from the brazier.  Hovering in mid-air, the figure still vaguely undulated all over, but then coagulated, rapidly fixing into a precise image, with alternate streams of light, or rather smoke, pouring through it.  As if the smoke were the figure's visible blood." (103)
Whether this is a dream or reality the women of this strange place become just another piece of the mystery.  For just as the fugitive searches following paths are compared to the "thread of Ariadne", the reality of the place and its inhabitant(s) come into question. The catastatis of the narrative provides complexities sufficient to make this one of the most competent novellas of its kind. That is a story of adventure, Eros, and mystery combined with a deeper sense of the spirit of the unknown.
The author, Tommaso Landolfi has justly been compared to Poe, but I found the eeriness of the story more subtle than most tales by Poe. This story was tinged with the aura of Kafka and Borges making it a rich reading experience that rewards those who love the unusual in literature.

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Victorian Mystery

The Woman in White 
by Wilkie Collins


"This is a story of what a woman's patience can endure, and what a man's resolution can achieve." - Wilkie Collins

What is a mystery? The very term baffles the imagination... A mystery purveys the element of shock and awe. We explore hidden paths, or explore the unknown, until we discover the truth. A mystery is usually presented in the form of a novel like this one, or a short story like those of Poe or Doyle.
With "The Woman in White" Wilkie Collins added the element of sensationalism to the mystery*.  The discovery by Collins of "a young and very beautiful young woman dressed in flowing white robes that shone in the moonlight" inspired this story. In the novel, Walter Hartright encounters a woman in white. The novel involves crime, poison, and kidnapping. The author develops the story through multiple layers from a variety of narrators. They tell a story filled with both appealing characters and equalling unappealing villains.
The plot involves Walter Hartright, a young drawing master, who one evening sees a mysterious woman dressed in white, apparently in deep distress. The household in which he works includes Mr Frederick Fairlie, a reclusive valetudinarian; Laura Fairlie, his niece; and Marian Halcombe, her devoted half-sister. Hartright finds that Laura bears an astonishing resemblance to the woman in white, called Anne Catherick. Hartright and Laura fall in love. Laura, however, has promised her late father that she will marry Sir Percival Glyde, and Marian advises Walter to leave Limmeridge. Laura and Glyde marry in December 1849 and travel to Italy. Hartright also leaves England, joining an expedition to Honduras.
The narration continues to unfold with further mysterious developments involving Laura's inheritance, the relationships of Count Fosco and Glyde, the status of Anne Catherick, and whether young Walter Hartright will ever return to England to pursue his love for Laura.
This brief description does not really do justice to the complications of the story, but as is true of most mysteries disclosing more details would detract from the reader's joy of discovery while engaging the novel for himself.
Wilkie Collins succeeds by the creation of convincing characterization, especially Walter Hartright and Marian Halcombe. He moves the story along seemingly without effort; slowly but judiciously increasing the suspense and mystery of a variety of characters whose importance only gradually becomes evident. Finally, he successfully creates a milieu that is believable - presenting a sort of aura that surrounds the happenings - mostly in a country manor - with a subtle intensity. There is also an element of historicity that is important to understanding the plot; specifically the legal restraints on women in mid-nineteenth century England.  The plight of Laura Fairlie results as much from these restraints as from her personal character while Anne Catherick suffers from certain restraints that may still be present today. 
Wilkie Collins is impressive in bringing together elements that I have encountered in other authors like Bronte or Dickens while creating his own thrilling mystery. It is a novel worthy of the popularity is has enjoyed for more than a century.

*This review is part of the Readers Imbibing Peril seasonal reading event. View all my reviews

RIP Group Read

 Carl from Stainless Steel Droppings is hosting the eighth annual RIP or Readers Imbibing Peril read along event. This will be the first year that I am participating.

One can join in on any one of several levels.This is a fall event that officially runs from September 1st through October 31st and readers can join in, read and comment upon literature or watch and comment upon films relating to:

Mystery
Suspense
Thriller
Dark Fantasy
Gothic Horror
Supernatural
Or anything sufficiently moody that shares a kinship with the above.

My plan is to read and comment upon at least one work, Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White. Perhaps I will have time for more although I already am committed to reading other books during this period.

It is a different type of endeavor than I am used to but I look forward to reading and posting about my reading.  I look forward to reading commentary from the many other participants.
Thanks to Carl for hosting this fascinating read along and thanks to Brian at Babbling Books for bringing this to my attention.

On the Wings of Ideas

A Dream of Daring 

by Gen LaGreca

"When men understand that their greatest gift is their intelligence, that their glory is to use it, that their own will is their trusted guide to chart their course, that their labors are theirs to choose, that the fruits of them are theirs to keep, and that surrendering this immense power to the rule of others is beneath the dignity of man---that is when the new age will soar to heights unimaginable." (p 281)

While reading A Dream of Daring I was reminded of John Stuart Mill who wrote in chapter three of On Liberty (“On Individuality, as One of the Elements of Well-being”) a passionate defense of individuality and diversity, and the liberty that allows them to flourish.
Gen LaGreca in A Dream of Daring has written a passionate historical novel where the wings of the idea of freedom of thought, liberty, and individual responsibility allow the hero and heroine to achieve their dreams.  Added to the historical setting of the antebellum South is a suspense-filled murder mystery with plot developments, including the theft of Thomas's revolutionary invention, building to an exciting action-filled and emotionally satisfying ending. More important are the ideas that motivate the characters furnishing a foundation for the story. This makes A Dream of Daring a great novel.
The author demonstrates-- through the actions of the hero, Thomas Edmunton, and the heroine, introduced as "Solo"; but also the actions of their antagonists-- a battle of good versus evil, the willingness to take bold action versus the foolish consistency of attachment to a dying cultural tradition, and the importance of moral principles for man's survival. The characters are developed effectively beginning with the hero who at the onset of the novel is "out of step with the world around him", but who gradually discovers both why that is true and what the implications of it are. The demonstration of the importance of freedom, responsibility, and learning occurs not only through the heroic actions of Thomas and Solo, but also through those of the supporting characters, particularly Jerome who flourishes once he is given the freedom to pursue his passion by Thomas.  The development of characters and the ideas they represent is presented as sort of mystery of discovery echoing the mystery of murder and the theft of Thomas's invention. It is the interplay of these ideas, the development and growth of the characters, and the resolution of the action that impressed this reader. The author wrote with a lucid prose style and enriched the story with mythological and literary references. These factors combined with the power of ideas lifted the novel beyond the bounds of history and suspense and into the realm of inspiration. It was a journey that could only be taken on the wings of ideas.

A Dream of Daring by Gen LaGreca. Winged Victory Press, Chicago. 2013

Mysterious Book

Book of Shadows 

by Alexandra Sokoloff

 

"In the  anemic wash of the streetlamps, the deserted park was ghostly and colorless, a stage set of dead trees and shrubs with the dry fountain and angel in the center.  The park had that in common with the landfill; there was a brutality about the ruination, a killer deliberately seeking ugliness." (p 174)

This entertaining mystery successfully maintains suspense throughout the story.  At the start the discovery in a landfill of the mutilated corpse of Erin Carmody, the 18-year-old daughter of a prominent Boston businessman, presents homicide detective Adam Garrett with a particularly sensitive case. Marks on the body suggest the killer was conducting Satanic rituals. When Adam and his partner, Carl Landauer, question the prime suspect, Jason Moncrief, a college friend of Erin's, Jason chants the name of the demon Choronzon, then assaults Carl. Despite what appears to be an open-and-shut case, Adam can't discount the claim that Jason is innocent made by Tanith Cabarrus, an attractive witch who comes to police headquarters to report, that she dreamed of other murders--and who believes that supernatural forces are behind the slaughter.
The main character, Detective Adam Garrett, is the type of hero who follows his own instincts even when his boss and others do not approve.  Mystery is darkened throughout by a layer of witchcraft and the setting in Massachusetts near Salem augments that layer.  The major supporting characters are presented with believable detail while the trappings of the supernatural do not detract from the more traditional aspects of detective work.  Overall, Sokoloff's fast-paced and suspenseful style makes this an enjoyable entertainment.

Book of Shadows by Alexandra Sokoloff. St. Martin's Press, 2010

Literary Murder Mystery

The American Boy 

by Andrew Taylor

"All that day, Sophie avoided my company.  When circumstances threw us together, she would no meet my eyes.  I snapped at the boys and was surly with the servants.  It is all very well to say one should bear misfortune with philosophy, but in my experience when misfortune comes in by one door, philosophy leaves by the other." (p 294)

The American Boy is a pre-Victorian murder mystery set in 1819-20 but, amazingly, was written in the twenty-first century. It was inspired by the author's interest in the brief period that Edgar Allan Poe spent in England while still a young boy. Building on this real event and some of the real characters, such as Edgar's foster father John Allan and his natural father David Poe, Andrew Taylor spins a mystery out of this moment in the famous author's life. The result is a very satisfying mystery with a central character, Thomas Shields, who is a school teacher but becomes quite by accident an amateur sleuth as the mystery of several intertwined families, two murders, a banking scandal, and the identity of the victim of one of the crimes draws Shields gradually deeper into its depths. As a school teacher in a small school he has two students, Edgar Allan and Charles Frant, who become mutual friends and in whom he takes an interest as they are bullied by some bigger boys. Shields is somewhat impoverished and thus dependent on his "betters" with certain consequences for the story. He inhabits a sort of never-land somewhere in between the Parents of his students and their servants. Since he is living in their households for much of the story as tutor to Edgar and his friend Charles Frant this existence becomes somewhat oppressive for Shields. It is further complicated by his attraction to the mother of Charles. Murder, unacceptable love, questions of identity and missing money -- just the stuff of great mysteries. The best part of this novel is the pre-Victorian setting as Andrew Taylor effectively recreates the world of England in the last days of the reign of King George III. Told in the first person by Thomas Shield through his journal the story covers only nine months time but there is what becomes a tidal wave of events and plot twists before Shields' narrative is complete.
I was unfamiliar with Andrew Taylor when I discovered this book, intrigued by the connection with Poe. What I found was a master of mystery whose ability to create a believable labyrinthine plot keeps the reader guessing almost until the last page.

The American Boy by Andrew Taylor. Harper Perennial, 2008.

Conundrums Abound in Space

Hull Zero Three 

by Greg Bear

"For some reason, survival makes me laugh.  I've come this far, I become multitudes--I'm more than eccentric, I'm plain silly--my life makes me laugh in mad earnest.  I stop laughing, suck as much air as I can stand, try not to retch, and continue my climb, hand over hand, following instinct." (p 116)

I had not read any of Greg Bear's extensive oeuvre before picking up Hull Zero Three to read as part of the 2012 Sci-Fi challenge at Curiosity Killed the Bookworm. What I discovered while reading this book was a thought-provoking and challenging novel by a multiple award-winning SF author. Although the novel employs many classic tropes – the deep space mission gone awry, consciousness spawned and run amok, humanity’s struggle with survival and destruction – conceptually, Hull Zero Three paints an ambitious picture of space exploration in the distant future. In overall form it is more a mystery than an actual hard, groundbreaking SF novel, and even if the themes and ideas are familiar the conundrums that emanate from Bear’s storytelling skill make the book a worthwhile, if en petite abstruse, read. Bear presents classic familiar questions in the science fiction realm, contrasting humanity and individuality--dream versus reality through the lens of genetic manipulation, and examines the future of a primitive and destructive humankind among the stars. In some, slight way the book reminded me of other Science Fiction that I have enjoyed like James Blish's Cities in Flight and A. E. Van Vogt's The Voyage of the Space Beagle. Bear’s novel is certainly more sophisticated than the latter and incredibly subtle with powerful concepts that provoke reflection. I enjoyed Hull Zero Three for the most part and found the conclusion especially satisfying.
There are a few aspects of the book that I found disappointing in light of the overall success. The presentation of the mystery, as narrated by Teacher, the main character in the book is slow to develop. While the reader can enjoy the discovery of clues as to the nature of the ship that is Teacher's home, the difficulty in putting the pieces together detracts from the overall presentation of the story. Hull Zero Three is written with a great expanse of detail, but in a strange way the descriptions and style are often confusing and intangible; the characters and even Ship (note the capitalization and lack of a definite article) itself are hard to visualize. For example, monkey-like creatures are described as donuts, one character can rearrange her bulk and shape by somehow shifting sinew and muscle. Teacher is prone to confused visualizations as he tries to reform his new lexicon from deep sleep. He discovers new words he didn’t know existed, unlocking memories for each item and creature he encounters the longer he is awake, and this initial use of language, the importance of books and the actual format of Hull Zero Three – itself as a written book by Teacher – is very clever and comes together nicely by the end of the book…but the overall effect is somewhat piecemeal. I grew impatient at times with the stylistic details of the novel and from the lack of actual, meaty character development – there are some scenes of self-reflection, but without any real depth or heft. Hull Zero Three is more about the mystery and solving the puzzle than it is about realization of character arcs – which isn’t to say that Teacher’s struggle isn’t a valid or engaging one! It certainly is. But Hull‘s strengths lie elsewhere – namely, in that of its overall concept and design.
That Bear is able to overcome some of these issues and bring the story together brilliantly by the end of the novel while resolving questions raised by the mysteries of Ship, the resolution felt somewhat subitaneous. To much telling in the wrapping up marred the excellent space adventure but did not keep me from considering more Greg Bear for my future and recommending this particular novel for your future.

Hull Zero Three by Greg Bear. Orbit Books, 2011 (2010)