Entries from Westport Public Library BOOK blog tagged with 'suspense'
A latter-day Dostoevsky
If there was a "Life’s Little Ironies" competition, author Ruth Rendell might be the winner. She was fired from her newspaper job after writing an article about the local tennis club's annual dinner which she had not actually attended – and so she “neglected” to mention the untimely death of the after-dinner speaker mid-speech. False alibis, erroneous statements, sudden deaths … some of the major ingredients of good crime fiction! Rendell moved on to become one of the most celebrated mystery authors of our time and has won the Silver, Gold, and Cartier Diamond Daggers from the Crime Writers' Association, three Edgars and a Grand Master from the Mystery Writers of America, and countless other awards. In addition to over forty psychological crime novels – which she also writes under the pseudonym Barbara Vine – Rendell has produced twenty two Chief Inspector Wexford police procedurals. The series began in 1964, and the latest book, The Monster in the Box, was recently released.Jack is back in town
Three recent crime novels re-visit one of the great unsolved mysteries of all time. The Empty Mirror by J. Sydney Jones takes place in fin-de-sicle 1892 Vienna, a city terrorized by a serial killer whom the press calls “Vienna’s Jack the Ripper.” Lyndsey Faye’s Dust and Shadow is set in London in the autumn of 1888. The savage slaughter of two prostitutes in London's East End piques Sherlock Holmes' curiosity. In The Frightened Man by Kenneth Cameron, rumors are flying that Jack the Ripper has returned when the mutilated body of a teenaged prostitute is found in London’s East End. It is now 1900, and London is a sprawling, chaotic city, the perfect place for a man like Denton, an American with a violent past, to obtain some much desired anonymity.CSI: Sarasota?
One does not usually think of Sarasota as a hotbed of criminal activity, but there is not just one, but two, popular mystery series set in this southwestern coastal Florida city. Stuart Kaminsky’s transplanted northerner Lew Fonesca is “an unlicensed peeper, bargain basement dick and process server living out of his office overlooking the Dairy Queen on 301. “ Although they have their lighter moments – mainly due to an entertaining assortment of odd characters – these books are generally dark in tone, and psychologically complex, dealing with questions of grief and depression. And then there is Blaize Clement’s sleuth Dixie Hemingway who has given up her stressful job as a sheriff's deputy in Sarasota to become a professional pet sitter. Although definitely lighter than the Kaminsky novels, Clement’s books should not be dismissed out-of-hand as just another humorous feline mystery series. According to Publishers Weekly “Clement blends elements of cozy and thriller to produce an unusual and enjoyable hybrid.”Stories to Be Read with the Lights On
A treasury of thrillers that I cherished in my youth was one of the Alfred Hitchcock collections called Stories to Be Read with the Lights On. A few of the authors who have signed on for Murder 203 write the kind of fiction and non-fiction that bring these stories—and all of the nights I really did sleep with the lights on—to mind.! Jennifer McMahon’s novel Promise Not to Tell is not just another scary story—it is an impressive blend of suspense, the supernatural and self-discovery. On the night Kate Cypher returns home to rural Vermont to care for her ailing mother, a young girl is murdered in the same way Kate's childhood friend, Del, nicknamed the "Potato Girl" by her mean-spirited classmates, was killed 30 years ago—a horrific crime. Del's killer was never found, and the victim had since achieved immortality in local legends and ghost stories. Kate, beset by guilt for her own part in the girl’s persecution, reconnects with her childhood sweetheart, who is utterly convinced that Del's ghost is seeking its revenge.Last seen writing
Connecticut mystery writer Hillary Waugh was one of the pioneers of the American police procedural novel. He died on Dec. 8th at the age of 88. Waugh's 1952 novel Last Seen Wearing was listed by the Mystery Writers of America as one of the top 100 mysteries of all time and in 1989 he was named a Grand Master by the MWA. He used Connecticut as the setting for many of his stories, and had an eleven title series which featured Fred Fellows, chief of police in Stockford, a fictional small town.Doorstops
I recently saw a piece that called Dennis Lehane’s latest novel, Given Day, a “doorstop.” At 720 pages, I imagine it would be. Which is not to imply that the book is dead weight by any means! Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review and called it “a splendid flowering of the talent previously demonstrated in his crime fiction.” In this departure from his Kenzie and Gennaro mystery novels, Lehane has written a “nail-biter” of a thriller.Switch hitters
Chris Grabenstein is a former improvisational comedian. He and Bruce Willis were in the same comedy troupe in the early 1980s and he spent almost twenty years writing commercials for America's top advertising agencies. Grabenstein won the Anthony Award for Best First Mystery for his debut Tilt a Whirl, the first in a series of John Ceepak mysteries set in Sea Haven, New Jersey. A former MP in Iraq, Ceepak brings his considerable physical strength, crime-solving skills and morality to the beachside town. The second book, Mad Mouse, was selected as one of the Ten Best Mysteries of 2006 by Kirkus. It was followed by Whack a Mole in 2007 and the newly released Hell Hole.Dying to get elected
There is an interesting variety of mystery and suspense fiction set on the campaign trail. Just in case you have extreme campaign fever and can’t get enough of the real thing, here are a few titles to try!And the winners are …
This year’s Best Novel Edgar went to John Hart for Down River. Quite an achievement, as this is only his second published work. His first book was The King of Lies which was nominated for a Best First Novel Edgar. Both books made the New York Times Bestseller list. This year’s Best Novel Agatha went to Louise Penny for A Fatal Grace, which is the second title in her Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series, preceded by Still Life and followed by the recently released The Cruelest Month.Like father, like son
It remains to be seen whether Elmore Leonard’s son Peter’s debut novel, Quiver, which is due mid-May, will meet everyone’s expectations. Also like father, and in his case, mother, Jesse Kellman is the son of best-selling novelists Jonathan and Faye Kellerman. Of his latest – and third – book, The Genius, also due in May, PW wrote, “Kellerman has a gift for creating compelling characters as well as for crafting an ingenious plot that grabs the reader and refuses to let go.”Had I but known!
The "Had I But Known" school of mystery writing -- in which the principal character (frequently female) does less than sensible things when involved in a crime which have the effect of prolonging the action of the novel -- originated 100 years ago with Mary Roberts Rinehart in her 1908 book The Circular Staircase. This book will be the featured title for the Usual Suspects discussion next Sunday, April 13th, in honor of the Library’s 100th birthday.The ultimate cold case file
What really happened on November 22, 1963 and immediately after? Just recently there were reports of a tape transcript – since dismissed as a fake – having surfaced, supposedly from a meeting between Ruby and Oswald at Ruby's nightclub on October 4, 1963 in which they talk of killing the president. Set in the present day, Robert O. Greer’s sixth C.J. Floyd mystery The Mongoose Deception drags the reluctant Black bail bondsman turned Western collectibles dealer detective back through time into the JFK assassination.Gothic Revival
Encarta defines the gothic novel as a “type of romantic fiction that predominated in English literature in the last third of the 18th century and the first two decades of the 19th century” which “emphasized mystery and horror and was filled with ghost-haunted rooms, underground passages, and secret stairways.” Author Diane Setterfield has been hailed for breathing new life into an old form with The Thirteenth Tale the next title for discussion by the Usual Suspects Mystery Reading Group, scheduled for Sunday, March 16th.Chiller thriller
On Sunday, February 17th, at 2 p.m. the Usual Suspects Mystery Reading group will discuss Smilla’s Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg, which has been called a stunning intellectual thriller in the tradition of Gorky Park and the novels of John Le Carré. Smilla Jaspersen is the daughter of a Danish doctor and an Inuit woman from Greenland who lives in Copenhagen. When an Inuit boy she knows dies under mysterious circumstances, she refuses to believe it was an accident. She decides to investigate and discovers that even the police don't want her involved. Smilla persists, and her investigation leads her from a fanatically religious accountant to a tough-talking pathologist and then to the secret files of the Danish company responsible for extracting most of Greenland's mineral wealth. Finally, she boards a ship with an international cast of villains laden with a large stash of cocaine bound for a mysterious mission on an inhospitable island off Greenland.The Anatomy of Deception
“What makes his book so fascinating is the attention to the medical procedures and innovations of the time ... Readers who enjoy Anne Perry’s and Caleb Carr’s psychological thrillers will welcome Goldstone’s brooding, paranoiac addition to the genre.”—Booklist Local author Lawrence Goldstone will be our speaker on Monday, February 11th, to discuss his recently released forensic thriller, The Anatomy of Deception. A young doctor is plunged into a maze of murder, secrets and unimaginable crimes and tracks a daring killer through the operating rooms, drawing rooms, and back alleys of 1889 Philadelphia.When Johnny comes marching home
PTSD – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder – is an acronym that has passed into common parlance these days. Two new mysteries incorporate this timely issue. John Lescroart’s Betrayal tells the story of Evan Scholler, a young National Guard reservist riddled with “survivor guilt” who is having difficulty readjusting to civilian life after his service in Iraq. Seven men in Scholler’s platoon, as well as an innocent Iraqi family, were killed in a deadly incident because of the apparent mistakes of an ex-Navy SEAL and private contractor named Ron Nolan. Scholler publicly vows to kill him, and when Nolan is indeed murdered, is convicted of the crime.Déjà vu all over again
In Linwood Barclay’s new suspense thriller, No Time for Goodbye, a Milford woman whose parents and brother vanished during the night from their family home twenty-five years ago decides to take her story to a popular crime-stopper program on national television. She then fears that her husband and child may be taken from her in the same fashion when it becomes clear that there is much more to their disappearance than she ever imagined.Gather around
Three authors of interest to mystery fans will be speaking at the Library over the next few weeks as part of the Authors @ the Library series. On Tuesday, October 30, at noon Jerry Labriola will discuss his book The Strange Death of Napoleon Bonaparte, a suspense novel that combines equal parts mystery and rich historical detail. On Wednesday, November 7, at 7:30 p.m. Jed Rubenfeld will discuss his book The Interpretation of Murder, a historical mystery and a psychological thriller - in the truest sense of the term -- with a cast that includes Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. On Monday, November 12, at 7:30 p.m. Susan Schaab will discuss her book Wearing the Spider, which Liz Smith called "The Devil Wears Prada in legal Technicolor."Fall book discussions
The Usual Suspects Mystery Reading Group has two award winners up for discussion this fall.
This coming Sunday, September 16th, at 2 p.m. our title will be The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin, which was the winner of the this year's Edgar Award for Best Novel.
On Sunday, October 21st our title will be The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard, which was the winner of this year's Agatha Award for Best Novel.
Someone to tell your troubles to
Meet Brian McNulty, an Upper West Side bartender and sometime actor, who, like all good bartenders, respects the confidences he hears and what he learns about the people who drink in his establishment.
In his first outing, Beware the Solitary Drinker, McNulty is unwillingly drawn into a quest for the killer of a young woman who frequented Oscar’s, the bar where he works. All of the suspects are regulars at Oscar’s and in order to figure out who the murderer is, he must violate the sacred rule of bartender–boozer confidentiality.
Summer school
The Usual Suspects will continue to meet through the summer and our July and August selections are mysteries with an academic setting.
Sketchy clues
Two men - one good, one evil - who think in pictures.
Police sketch artist Nate Rodriguez, and a vicious serial killer who makes portraits of his victims and leaves them pinned to their bodies.
Jonathan Santlofer’s Anatomy of Fear has an interesting subtitle: A Novel of Visual Suspense.
There are 100 or so sketches scattered throughout the book that enhance the narrative in this unique thriller.
Truth is stranger than fiction
According to Mark Twain, “Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't.”
Two non-fiction true crime books passed through my hands recently that gave me reason to reflect upon this.
One is Stealing Lincoln’s Body by Thomas J. Craughwell, which is about an incident in 1876 involving several Chicago counterfeiters who attempted to steal Lincoln’s remains from his Springfield tomb. As a result, our 16th president now rests below several feet of cement.
Not your mother's academic mystery
The Grave Tattoo by Val McDermid. Edgy, tense, compelling.
A 200-year-old body appears when a peat bog in England’s Lake District dries up. There is much speculation as to who the man covered with South Seas tattoos was and how he ended up there.
Wordsworth scholar Jane Grisham is convinced that he was Fletcher Christian, famed HMS Bounty mutineer, who somehow managed to escape from Pitcairn Island and make his way back to England.
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