Six Years by Harlan Coben

It is six years since Jake Fischer's one and only true love Natalie, walked down the aisle with another man. It is six years since our college professor promised his sweetheart that he would leave them alone. Now six years later, when he finds an obituary of her husband in the University news bulletin, Jake Fischer feels he is no longer bound by the promise and decides to attend the funeral and maybe get a glimpse of his soulmate. But something is wrong in the funeral, the widow is not his sweetheart, but an older woman married to the man for years. So what is happening here? What happened to Natalie? Where is she? As Jake digs and looks for things he confronts more and more baffling hidden truths some even connected with his alma mater. How is his alma mater involved in this disappearance of his sweetheart? As Jake goes looking for the place where he met Natalie, he finds everything changed and even people he knew fail to recognise him or remember Natalie. Will Jake find the truth? How would you go about looking for somebody from your past when you can't find them in Facebook? Jake also finds something bizarre, he finds that Natalie's father disappeared a few years before too. What happened to Natalie's father? Are these disappearances related?

This is a recurring theme in Coben books, somebody starts looking for somebody/something from the past, or one who wouldn't let the past be, throwing their ordinary lives into mystery and danger. As they start looking for something they realise that things are not as they seem, and more and more they dig, they put their loved ones and their own life in jeopardy. But one has to know, even if one knows that life would never be same again.

Coben is a master of twists and turns. As usual he creates a multi- layered complicated plot with too many bizarre and seemingly unconnected events that make sense in the end with lots of surprises thrown in. But if you have read most of his books like me, when the revelation comes your likely to say didn't he use the same thing in that book. But there are enough surprises to let this pass.

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My post for Crime Fiction Alphabet S.

Red Mandarin Dress by Qiu Xiaolong

When a young woman dressed in red mandarin dress is found murdered in a busy traffic place in Shanghai, Inspector Chen should not only investigate the woman but also research about the red Mandarin dress as he believes that the dress is the clue to the murder. Red Mandarin Dress had been a symbol of elegance before the Cultural Revolution, during the cultural revolution it became the symbol of something to be despised, and disappeared from fashion, later it became fashionable again. But the Mandarin Dress of modern day is more sexy than the elegant one rich women wore before the revolution. The woman found murdered was not wearing a Mandarin Dress that could be bought off the shelf from a shop but one that was made to order in a rather older style. Inspector Chen needs to find the mystery of this Red Mandarin Dress soon because one more woman dressed in Red Mandarin Dress is murdered. The serial killer stalking Shanghai is killing women and dressing them in a modest Red Mandarin Dress but exposing them immodestly creating contradictions. Why is the killer doing that? Does Freud's theory apply to China?

Fortunately Inspector Chen is also working on his literature paper and decides to look into romantic stories in Chinese literature. And he comes up with his own theory backed by Chinese literature on the contradictions created by the killer.

In 'When Red is Black', the earlier novel I read in this series, Qui Xiaolong feature the Singing girls, one of the three accompanying girls. This novels takes us to gourmet restaurants with the 'eating girls'. Girls who escort rich men to restaurant help them choose exquisite menus and provide them with intelligent and enjoyable conversation and company and may be something more later. We get an inside view from a senior escort, on why she became an eating girl.

Like in the earlier novel the author takes us again into the Cultural Revolution and its aftermath and also the changing dynamics of China moving from Communism to Capitalism and issues of corruption.

It is also interesting how Inspector Chen, his partner Yu, and even Yu's wife contribute to the investigation. But spotting the killer as soon as he is introduced is rather frustrating. After all it is touted as a mystery and when the culprit is so obvious it takes the joy out of reading a mystery. Even though the mystery part was disappointing, I did enjoy the book, the author has created a complex story to incorporate the history of China and various aspects like culture, literature, fashion, the changing economics, poetry, gourmet food, so-called delicacies that could be down right cruel and philosophy as touted by Confucius. Bringing all this together in an engaging style is no easy deed, wish the mystery was breathtaking too.

Below is a quote to give you an idea of the imagery the writer creates.

One brought in a laptop and started playing a game, her fingers pecking and chirping like noisy sparrows on a spring morning.


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The cover shows a girl wearing a red mandarin dress, but it is not clear, so doesn't serve the purpose.


This is my post for Crime Fiction Alphabet R.

Poppet by Mo Hayder

I never judge a book by its cover. I don't even notice it. All that matters to me is the author's name and synopsis. But this is definitely a book to be judged by its cover. Scary cover? Scary story!

The beginning is very disturbing. Even considering that it is a delusion of a mentally ill person. And 'The Maude', is one of our nightmares. The tightness in chest, the difficulty to breathe, not able to get up, struggling with semi-consiousness. Do I even continue!

Already delusional mental patients report the presence of 'The Maude', a dwarf ghost, who prompts them to self-harm. Series of disturbing happenings leading to at least two deaths, disturbs the usually unperturbed AJ, coordinator at this Mental Asylum. AJ is the short for Average Joe, he is one of our main leads. The other lead is of course the series protagonist DI Jack Caffery. Will AJ with the help of Jack Caffery overcome the nightmare? AJ poking at these events takes us on a nightmarish journey into the life of a mentally disturbed teenager who killed his parents brutally.

The first few chapters were very disturbing. I do my reading mostly before sleep, I had fitful sleep the couple of nights I read it. I was even considering abandoning the book, which I rarely do. But there was something that made me read it. I love scary or horror movies, but reading horror stuff is never my thing, because my imagination is more scary than someone else's as in watching a movie. That said the story moves into the thriller mode from the horror stuff.

The parallel plot involves the investigation into a missing person case which looks like a continuation from previous novel. I haven't read any other books in the series, I wonder if that is the reason that I couldn't be interested in the parallel plot. About the main plot, there were too many clues and quite early on I zeroed on the perp, which was a bit of a let down for a mystery. But there were other surprises and Mo Hayder manipulates our feelings for the characters quite adeptly. A Chilling thriller!

P.S. It is told in present tense if you care about such things. 

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My post for Crime Fiction Alphabet P. 

The Lady of Sorrows by Anne Zouroudi

In a remote Island  in Greece is a church that holds the icon of the Lady of Sorrows, who is known to do miracles and listen to the prayers of the faithful. Greek detective Hermes umm, Fat Man, that's how he is addressed throughout the book, visits the church, only to find that the Icon is a clever imitation. Leaving matters to his friend Kara, he decides to sail away on his holiday. Only in the meanwhile, the Icon painter is found poisoned. Who killed him and why? What happened to the Orginal Lady of Sorrows icon?

The story moves at a leisurely fashion, the Fat Man goes about enjoying his life, swimming with his friend Kara, sailing happily, going to Peach orchards to get the pick of the best Peaches, and also solving the case. He has no official standing, just gossips with people makes them talk and get the information. He asks seemingly random questions and finally solves the case with the answers to these seemingly random questions.  Almost like Sherlock Holmes, only we have no Dr.Watson here to ask the reasons for the seemingly random questions. Given the leisurely pace, the last few pages have lots of twists and turns. I couldn't quite fathom how the fat man guessed what had happened and how he solved the case. I couldn't guess who the killer is, but had a vague idea of the icon imitation. But it all kind of adds up in the end.

This book is very different in tone, setting and atmosphere from Zone Defence by Petros Markaris , the only other Greek Mystery I read and one of my favourite reads last year. But both the mysteries evoke the feel of the place. Zone Defence shows us the modern Athens with its traffic jams, pollution, corruption and deals with the death of a night-club owner, is a clever multi-layered Noir. The Lady of Sorrows takes us to a remote beautiful Island to a laid back leisurely life, to a place one would like to go on a holiday.  The other common factor in the books is the earthquake. The Lady of Sorrows published in 2010 is the fourth book featuring Greek Detective, Hermes Diaktoros. Enjoyable cozy mystery!


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This counts for various challenges including Crime Fiction Alphabet

G is for Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

                                            

This is my post for Letter G for Crime Fiction Alphabet 2013

On their fifth anniversary, the wife disappears and husband doesn't care. The first half of the story comprises of the first person narration by the husband from the day of the wife's disappearance and the wife's diary from the day they met each other to her disappearance. As the piece fall into place, we realise all is not as it appears. 

I read a story with a similar premise sometime back and I knew what to expect up to a point so the twists and turns in the first half were predictable but the second half is really the clincher for me. Gillian Flynn toys with the idea how much do we know our spouses. 

 Here is my full review. 

                                                                

F is for The Fire Engine that disappeared by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo

  

                                                   

This is my post for Letter F for Crime Fiction Alphabet 2013

Life is full of small mysteries. More so when there is a little child at home. Things go missing and missing things suddenly appear. So what happened to your little boy's favourite little red car? One minute he is playing with it. The next it goes missing. Is it behind the tv stand? Maybe underneath the bed? Maybe in the trash can? You search and search. You find everything else except the little red car. The little one insists that he needs the car. You can't really engage the detective, can you? Do you think a detective can find it? 

                                                   

   

In 'The Fire Engine that disappeared', Ronn, one of the officers in Martin Beck's team, gifts his son a Fire Engine which also disappears. The boy has been unwell and did not leave the home for a while but his foot long fire engine has disappeared. Fortunately for him, he gets the help of a detective to solve the case, one who is observant and works methodically. Do they find the fire engine? 

Well, well, this is not the only mystery in this book. There is a fire in Stockholm and the fire Engine takes forever to reach the spot. The Fire Engine seems to have disappeared. A policeman who notices the smoke calls for the fire Engine and he is told that the emergency services were already informed and the fire engine is on the way. The Fire engine materialises only after the policeman makes a call again after some time. What happened to the fire engine? If it was already on the way, why didn't it reach the spot sooner ? Will Martin Beck and his team solve the mysteries of Fire Engines that seemed to have vanished into thin air?

If you like your police procedurals with a sprinkling of humour, Martin Beck series are a treat. 

Here is my full review. 

                       

                       The Fire Engine that hasn't disappeared, Yet! 

D is for Double, Double by Ellery Queen

This is my post for Letter D for Crime Fiction Alphabet 2013.

Do you remember this nursery rhyme?

Rich Man, Poor Man,
Beggar Man, Thief,

What comes next? Does it matter? It does. Somebody is killing off people according to this rhyme. First the 'town miser' died. Nobody knew he was a rich man. Then the rich man committed suicide. Only he wasn't rich. He was bankrupt and only way out was suicide. When the 'town drunkard' disappeared, it wasn't difficult for Ellery Queen to guess that he was also the 'beggar man' and somebody was killing people probably with no reason but in accordance to a rhyme. Next, the thief was killed before the eyes of Ellery Queen. Will he find out who comes next? And stop the killings? Everything is not as it seems. Everything is Double, Double. There are various versions of the rhyme, which one is the serial killer following?

Did I guess the killer? I did, but then I didn't! Everything is Double, Double. Here is my full review.

C is for The Case of the Late Pig by Margery Allingham

This is my post for Letter C for Crime Fiction Alphabet 2013.

Do you love Wooster and Jeeves? Imagine Wooster and Jeeves solving a murder mystery. A mystery where the same man is dead twice and once murdered! And the man a school bully known to everybody as 'Pig' Peters. This mystery narrated by Albert Campion has a definite Wodehouseian feel to it. The interactions between Campion and Lugg, the village and its characters are straight out of a Wodehouse novel.

The story starts with the announcement of R I Peters funeral in the 'Deaths' column in the newspaper and an anonymous letter addressed to Campion about Peters' death. As a school boy, Campion promised to attend 'Pig' Peters funeral after an unpleasant bullying incident in school. And Campion attends the funeral as promised.

Few months later, Campion starts a murder investigation. Who do you think is dead, this time? It's our late Pig Peters again. So what is happening here? Who killed Peters? Who is sending the anonymous letters to Campion? If Peters was dead this time, who died before? Whose funeral did Campion attend? Can one person die twice?

While part of the mystery may be guessed, part of it is not so obvious, this is a short novel with lots of fun.

B is for Below Suspicion

This is my post for Letter B for Crime Fiction Alphabet 2013.

We all know what Above Suspicion is. But what is below suspicion? In Below Suspicion by John Dickson Carr , featuring Barrister Patrick Butler, Dr.Gideon Fell explains that in a murder investigation no one is above suspicion. But some are below suspicion, like the investigator, the butler, maid, and servants who have no motive. In this book, the murder is committed by somebody below suspicion. With such a big clue, did I figure who the murderer is? No! Carr has created a perfect smokescreen I couldn't see the truth until the revelation. Here is the synopsis:

Patrick Butler, a barrister, is one hell of a defending lawyer nicknamed 'the Great Defender', he could always get his client free out of prison, even when he is sure that his client is guilty. Patrick is never wrong and he never loses his case. Joyce Ellis is accused of poisoning Mrs.Taylor. Joyce worked as a companion-nurse-secretary to Mrs.Taylor and pleads vehemently that she is innocent. Patrick feels otherwise.

When Mrs.Taylor's relative Richard Renshaw also dies by poisoning by the same substance, suspicion falls on his beautiful, blonde seductive wife Lucia. Should I say Patrick falls for Lucia and believes she is innocent? Can he prove that Lucia is innocent? Who killed Mrs.Taylor and why? Who killed Renshaw? Patrick Butler, brilliant though he is, now needs the help of Gideon Fell to solve this case.

Arctic Chill by Arnaldur Indridason

Ten-year old boy Elias is found stabbed to death near a block of flats near his home in Reykjavik. Elias is of mixed Thai and Icelandic origin. Is it the reason for what happened to the young boy? Is his killing related to the recent argument over immigration in his school? Or is his half-brother implicated? Is there some other unknown reason for killing? Is his death related to drug dealing in the school grounds? Detective Erlendur along with his team tackle this case.

I read Hypothermia by Arnaldur Indridason last year. While the mystery was very obvious, the book was quite haunting and Arnaldur creates quite a chilling atmosphere in Hypothermia.

As the dead boy is of mixed origin, Arnaldur takes on the issue of immigration in Iceland. We get arguments from all the sides. The anti-immigrant teacher, who vehemently hates immigrants and is quite vocal about it. The hardworking immigrant trying to make a decent life trying to stick to her language and facing problems learning a new language. The immigrant teenager who does not belong anywhere, who feels he is 'neither nor'. Neither an Icelander nor a Thai. The tolerant Icelander who does not mind immigrants and pro-immigrant Icelander who welcomes immigrants from his own personal experience. Yes! Yes! This is a crime novel but this is the major issue that it deals with. Erlendur meets all these arguments during his investigation. But this is not the only angle the investigation takes. Erlendur finds that there may be a paedophile residing in the area and not difficult to guess who. The case becomes complex when Sunee, Elias's mother doesn't trust the police and hides information and her other son. And there is the question of Sunee's elusive boyfriend. Is he somehow involved? Why didn't Erlendur impress on Sunee that she cannot hide important information?

Erlendur's back story of losing his brother in a blizzard is repetitive as I read all that in Hypothermia, though Hypothermia follows Arctic Chill and I never read books in order. Couldn't help wondering if his back story will feature in all his stories in detail. Arctic Chill is not as haunting or chilling like Hypothermia but here I couldn't guess the killer. Well, nobody could. I am looking forward to read other Reykjavik murder mysteries especially the one that won the CWA Gold Dagger. This one didn't win, the cover is misleading. This book is published in English in 2008 and translated from Icelandic by Bernard Scudder and Victoria Cribb.

This is my post for Letter A for Crime Fiction Alphabet 2013 and counts towards various challenges.

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2013

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2013 hosted by Kerrie @ Mysteries in Paradise, begins Monday 8 April, that is, tomorrow. Last year I participated in this community meme and got some great crime fiction recommendations, got introduced to some great blogs and bloggers. So I am signing up again.

Here are the rules

By Friday of each week you have to write a blog post about crime fiction related to the letter of the week.

Your post MUST be related to either the first letter of a book's title, the first letter of an author's first name, or the first letter of the author's surname, or even maybe a crime fiction "topic".
So you see you have lots of choice.
You could write a review, or a bio of an author, so long as it fits the rules somehow.
(It is ok too to skip a week.).
In the past participants have shown considerable creativity with extra rules imposed on themselves: e.g. authors only, crime fiction from a particular country only etc.