July 2023 MBR The Mystery/Suspense Shelf part 4 of 4

The Mystery/Suspense Shelf

Desert Deadline
Michael Craft
www.michaelcraft.com
Questover Press
9798218138813, $26.99 hardcover, $16.99 paperback, $6.99 Kindle

https://www.amazon.com/Desert-Deadline-Dante-Jazz-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0C41ZVC9D

Desert Deadline delivers another Dante & Jazz mystery that returns the duo of Dante O'Donnell and Jazz Friendly to Palm Springs and the mystery surrounding another conundrum.

Dante is a gay white man whose position as a concierge for Sunny Junket Vacation Rentals in Palm Springs leads him into unfamiliar territory far outside his job description. Jazz is a straight Black female on the rebound from a failed marriage who is struggling to establish her P.I. business. Their association in Book 1, Desert Getaway, (an Edgar Awards nominee for the Lilian Jackson Braun Award), presented an unabashed romp through seeming impossibilities as the
disparate investigators faced unlikely scenarios that tested the talents and different perspectives
of each character.

Desert Deadline opens with the unexpected, as well: the specter of Swedish death cleaning and the "cleaning dervish" Agnetha Berg, who is employed by Dante to help prep a newly listed vacation rental. As events unfold, Dante and Jazz discover that the latest baggage to land in their laps (from a big-name author's last-minute mandate for solitude and secrecy) draws them into another scenario that probes the underbelly of a vacation town's seedier residents.

From the start, Michael Craft embeds his mystery with the quirky personalities of investigators who discover that their presumptions and attitudes are both useful and a hindrance to their latest investigation. As Agnetha's disdain for Dante and Jazz dovetails with inconsistencies in her story, the two narrow their focus on perps and possibilities, but find that their own participation in subterfuge leads them not just to truth, but surprising outcomes. The flash and flamboyance of Palm Springs is revealed, along with its darker nature, and the two investigators find themselves both thoroughly immersed in too many possibilities and searching for the romance and emotional links missing in their own lives.

The moral and ethical conundrums these changing relationships introduce to each are nicely presented, providing subplots that rest firmly on emotional connections and conundrums as big as the murder they're investigating: "I was hoping he'd tell me that something had come up, that we'd have to postpone our rendezvous, our first date. Please, I thought, let it be his decision. Let him spare me the need to tussle with this, the need to juggle him with Isandro in my conflicting notions of loyalty versus desire. I wanted an easy way out. But no."

Strengthened by a myriad of characters who each hold special interests and roles in the community, this mystery is as much about preserving the magic in relationships as it is about preserving life in a gay community when motive, means, and opportunity seem to point to a murderer who resides too close to home for comfort.

Library mystery collections strong in LGBTQ+ stories, with patrons interested in mysteries solidly steeped in a realistic sense of place and the juxtaposition of very different characters, will find the intrigue, emotional connections, and surprising twists and turns of Desert Deadline translate to a solid acquisition choice.

Fault Line
H.N. Hirsch
Pisgah Press, LLC
www.pisgahpress.com
9781942016762, $22.95

https://www.amazon.com/Fault-Line-H-N-Hirsch/dp/194201676X

Libraries and readers looking for a classic gay murder mystery steeped in California culture, political subterfuge, and characters that live on the line of lies and danger will find Fault Line a fine study in intrigue that draws from its initial words, when Bob Abramson's first morning in California brings him an earthquake, rain, and murder.

Even though a new lawyer Bob is no stranger to murder. The murder of his roommate four years earlier introduced him to the victim's Harvard professor, Marcus George, leading to a relationship which challenged them to build a new life together in California. In this novel, the two new transplants explore California's gay subculture and continue to evolve their relationship against the backdrop of a different murder that mirrors a "small earthquake" in their changed lives together.

H.N. Hirsch does an excellent job of juxtaposing a murder mystery with a gay couple's continuing evolution. The story is replete with satisfying twists and turns that contrast social and political insights with personal life challenges in unpredictable, realistic, satisfying ways. As the ins and outs of local politics, conventional marriages, and closely held secrets come to light, both Bob and Marcus find their lives transformed. Bob comes to realize that many of his assumptions about lifestyles and age groups prove questionable in California's unique milieu: "Bob thought for a minute. 'And do you have any impression of the marriage?'

'None whatever. I've never really understood straight folk.'

Bob was startled; he hadn't really stopped to consider whether Philip was gay or straight. He felt a pang of guilt; like many people his age, he hardly thought about older people in terms of relationships, or sex." As relationships between mayors, attorney generals, and other public figures come to light, Bob comes to realize there are too many suspects and secrets too close to home for comfort.

Readers who embark on this foray into California culture with Bob and Marcus will find the story packed with social and political as well as psychological and relationship insights. Hirsch brings to life a myriad of characters that swirl around this unique murder case and its accompanying special interests. This creates a memorable, compelling read as suitable for genre readers of murder mysteries as it is for those seeking explorations of gay culture in California. Another surprising strength of the story: it's set in Southern California, where the gay lifestyle is less famous and pronounced than in the San Francisco Bay Area, which has become almost a cliche in gay circles.

Libraries and readers will find Fault Line a powerfully reflective whodunit that adds value with its realistic inspection of gay subculture perceptions and experiences.

French Ghost
Corinne LaBalme
Wild Rose Press
https://wildrosepress.com
9781509239191, $17.99 Paper, $4.99 Kindle

https://www.amazon.com/French-Ghost-Corinne-Labalme/dp/1509239197

French Ghost features a ghost writer whose employment becomes literal when her movie star boss suddenly dies in a drowning that leaves her floundering in Paris. Re-hired for the job by a sullen son who obviously resents his father, Melody Layne is puzzled about his motivation and attitude until her biographical journey becomes a foray into crime and threats. Is Melody's biography the product of lies, or truth? As she makes the choice to delve deeper into deceased Charles-Henri Banville's life, she uncovers hidden truths that emerge with powerful threats not only to her writing, but her life and those around her. It doesn't help that she's in a foreign milieu, or that she comes to realize her writing is actually a murder probe -- something she has little experience in pursuing.

Corinne LaBalme's dialogues are intriguing, reflecting a dash of humor as Melody chases clues to facts she has no business knowing about: "Melody, Melody... perhaps, in retrospect, I may have jumped to a conclusion..."

"I'd say you pole vaulted to a conclusion."

"But not without justification," he countered. "You are definitely my father's type." The romance that evolves alongside her duty to chronicle the truth leads to moral and ethical conundrums as Melody comes to realize that what she loves may be ultimately dangerous.

LaBalme walks a fine line between murder story and romance, but it's one nicely steeped in the atmospheres of both as Melody navigates situations she is both ill equipped to manage in terms of experience, and uniquely talented to trail, thanks to her writing and research background.

Other facets of the son's anguished relationship with his father come to light over an inheritance he never wanted, but which lies in question and comes with ironic twists: "Why did this man, who ignored me all his life, make me his heir and executor? Thanks to him, I'm a member of the one percent that I've fought against all my life."

French Ghost's backdrop blends the allure of a Paris romance with the intrigue of a mystery that draws special interests to interact on emotional and investigative levels as police search for a reason to finger son Carlos Ortega and Melody seeks the truth.

Libraries and readers looking for mysteries steeped in first-person revelations and astute considerations of romantic and detective pursuits alike will find French Ghost an appealing study in a writer's quest against all odds and a romance that evolves despite her recognition that "It was getting harder and harder to love that man."

A Gilded Drowning Pool
Cecelia Tichi
Independently Published
9798985121667, $15.99 Paper/$3.99 Kindle

https://www.amazon.com/Gilded-Drowning-Pool-Roddy-Devere/dp/B0C118ZCX3

With its dovetailing of murder mystery and historical fiction, A Gilded Drowning Pool introduces a special brand of captivating action that will attract both types of genre readers with its compelling contrasts between 1899 high society New York and a childhood spent in the Western mining camps.

This backdrop of evolution is cemented by the specter of dangerous threat when a young woman whose name harkens to Val's Gaelic nickname is drowned on family property, embroiling Val and her husband Roddy in a series of events and accusations that threaten everything they've built in their lives and between one another.

Val's first-person contrast between her girlhood in the far West and the position she finds herself in as Mrs. Roderick W. DeVere of New York's Fifth Avenue comes to life as the story moves through an unlikely set of circumstances and challenges to their social status and Val's efforts to rise above adversity.

What does a proposed Health-to-Wealth tent camp venture have to do with murder? As Val and her husband begin to realize that a bogus project is entangling their affairs in a serious and unexpected way, readers join them in a romp through the world of the 1800s and its social and political currents.

Cecelia Tichi develops an exquisite tension fostered by the first-person observations of Val and the interactions between her husband and various strata of society. From issues of financial gain and mutual cooperation to an investigation that exposes the fallacies of boyhood loyalties and the dangers Val and Roddy face in pursuing the truth,

A Gilded Drowning Pool virtually sizzles with unexpected twists. These lead readers to carefully examine the social and political entanglements of the times that lead to murderous decisions. Val and Roddy find themselves falling ever deeper into the quicksand of relationships they thought they knew well, only to discover that the veneer of geniality and decorum overlays a dangerous undercurrent of threat that reaches out to grasp and pull them into ever-deadlier situations.

From tyrants and liars to dark truths revealed, A Gilded Drowning Pool creates an evocative, compellingly rich story that proves hard to put down. It is highly recommended for historical fiction and murder mystery collections alike.

If Only Truman Were Dead
William F. Crandell
Hawkshaw Press
www.hawkshawpress.com
9781957224169, $15.99 Paper, $4.99 ebook

If Only Truman Were Dead is the second book in the Jack Griffith Detective series, continuing the same gritty exploration of a bygone 1940s milieu from the eyes of a streetwise detective newly returned from war.

Jack finds that almost everything has changed -- but some things never do. The Washington, D.C. he knew is seedier, yet will feel familiar to modern audiences: "Washington in 1948 was a different planet. The squalid Southern town I'd left behind to fight in Europe had become a squalid Southern city. Sex, cabs, booze and life were still cheap because Congress ran D.C. as a game preserve."

The trail of corpses that immerse Jack in another series of investigative quandaries and challenges has not yet begun -- but it's on the threshold as his month starts off with an unusual case.

What makes If Only Truman Were Dead stand out from the beginning is an observational first-person style that is candid, revealing, and sometimes startling in its ability to deliver punches via succinct first-person impressions of motivations for actions and hard choices: "Somebody hired Harry to handle the ransom demand for a young boy who'd been abducted. Harry botched it, and nowadays he drank his form of pain medicine neat. The kidnapper got what was coming to him. Luckily for my sanity, I was off shooting Germans at the time."

A second wife's concern that her rich husband is falling prey to alluring and clever young ladies introduces a series of events that lead far from an easy probe into a wife's worries, entering political circles that once again challenge Jack's ability to survive the layers of deceit he uncovers in high-level social and political circles.

The dialogues, atmosphere, and quandaries are spot-on and absorbing, often pairing astute observations with surprising conclusions: "Cissy Patterson held the commanding heights of the marble staircase in a hunter green dress cut injudiciously low. She must have been sixty or so. What had clearly once been engrossing breasts had turned flabby. You could see from her eyes and her nostrils she had too much money and spent some of it on cocaine. If your ears worked, you also knew Cissy drank too much. I liked her right away." Between the noir atmosphere of a sultry mystery, the satisfying questions and twists that keep Jack immersed in a strange new world he once knew well but now is barely familiar with, and the evolving events that portend more threats than he'd anticipated.

If Only Truman Were Dead commands the kind of riveting attention that can only come from powerful writing that extends the story's interest from detective readers to general-interest audiences. As dames, dolls, and the dead coalesce, If Only Truman Were Dead comes alive with dilemmas spiced with descriptions that are supercharged with psychological and mystery surprises: "Maybe part of a siren's allure goes beyond sex appeal - a puzzle loaned bewitchment to Aileen's allure."

If only one mystery were chosen by genre detective readers to try to lure non-mystery-reading friends into the fold, it should be If Only Truman Were Dead. Mystery and history entwine in a backdrop in which politics and motivation are powerfully engaged. Impeccable characterization, atmosphere, and intrigue will prove draws to anyone who appreciates a rollicking good romp through nefarious motivations and suspense, making If Only Truman Were Dead highly recommended for libraries and book clubs seeking solidly appealing stories that conclude with a political bombshell.

No Consent
Teresa Burrell and L.J. Sellers
Silent Thunder Publishing
9781938680403, $14.99 Paper, $4.99 ebook

https://www.amazon.com/NO-CONSENT-Conner-Hitch-Thriller/dp/1938680405

Thriller genre readers seeking a story that incorporates unusual relationships between forces on either side of justice will find No Consent a satisfying study in contrasts. It unites the forces of District Attorney Clara Hitchens ("Hitch"), who is facing the possibility of a corrupt boss, and newly released jail inmate Nate Conner, whose new focus is locating his missing sister while fending off a bully's demands for money.

Conner taps Hitch to help him, but when he's implicated in a murder case, she has her hands full on more than one front. Hitch also harbors too many doubts about what is really going on, suspecting she might be aiding and abetting what is possibly the wrong side in the pursuit for justice.

Part of the attraction in No Consent lies in its constantly-shifting alliances and situations that test Conner's ability to stay out of trouble and Hitch's ability to identify the real perps in her legal case. Teresa Burrell and L.J. Sellers excel in action-packed scenarios that begin the moment Conner steps out of jail to confront his past and the grave mistake he made in getting involved with a scammer. When he is rescued from this confrontation by his other sister, Conner comes to learn that his baby sister, who has been in and out of trouble for years, has actually been missing for months. This sends him on a mission before he's even stepped into his revised role in society, immersing readers in the specter of a newly released inmate who once again finds himself skirting the edges of the law and society.

Burrell and Sellers navigate a thin line that moves among informants, accusations, social and legal possibilities, and fresh issues with practiced agility. The story excels in the ebbs and flows of a tension that stems not just from discovery, but from social inspection: "She would do her best to make Heather look... more wholesome? Meaning less slutty. Hitch hated society's double standards."

As No Consent evolves its multifaceted plot, readers receive a tale steeped in ironic twists, circumstances that test ideas of political correctness, and setups which reveal to Connor frightening possibilities about his missing sister's life. Trial proceedings mire Conner deeper in legal entanglements and threats as his little sister tunnels into hiding and Hitch is thwarted by a successful corruption effort that turns her trial into a travesty.

The character development, action, and tension are well developed, creating a compelling story that rests as much on the individual challenges to Conner and Hitch as on their conjoined purposes. Light references to a budding friendship that could turn into something else pepper the story for future development, but the foundations of intrigue and proactive thinking that drive each character in No Consent lay a firm foundation of adventure that thriller readers will relish.

Libraries and readers seeking a story that navigates political, social, and legal circles to challenge its two main characters' perceptions and roles will find No Consent action-packed, vivid, and hard to put down.

The Philosophical Detective's Last Case
Bruce Hartman
Swallow Tail Press
https://swallowtailpress.com/index.html
9780999756471, $13.95 paper, $2.99 ebook

https://www.amazon.com/dp/099975646X

The Philosophical Detective's Last Case adds to and completes the trilogy of detective experiences of narrator Nick Martin, demonstrating the ability to stand on its own strengths with no prior introduction to the series required for newcomers.

The tale opens with the confession that its narrator resides in a memory care center, where he has "caretakers" who are charged with maintaining him. Nick cultivates a minor form of rebellion against his newly managed life. His keepers "...care for my memory as the gardener cares for the lawn, by saturating it with poisons and eradicating anything that sprouts up unexpectedly. Their mission is to make me remember what they think I ought to remember." But Nick admits that "My secret revenge is to remember only the things I want to remember." Thus his final story is also a defiant statement as he spends "my endless days and nights sifting through lost time for fragments of what has made my life worth living."

Nick's memorable fictional associations with "great Argentinian poet and fabulist Jorge Luis Borges" provides a rich treasure trove of experiences which fueled prior books and appears early on in this one to cement the presence of mysteries and conundrums that appear in literary and physical milieus alike. "The fundamental mysteries of nature aren't the kind a detective tries to solve," Nick protests to Borges. But as he is drawn to this literary giant's world and finds himself on yet another philosophical mystery adventure, readers will discover that the underlying inquiries that power this story are every bit as intriguing as the detective's foray into unfamiliar territory.

Bruce Hartman continues the concurrent themes of philosophical inspection that consider the roots of investigations and the definition of mysteries as unique to human reasoning: "The detective is to a mystery what the observer was to Schrödinger's cat," Borges said. "Unless he's looking (and asking) there isn't any mystery." Literary readers, especially, who enjoy the intersection of philosophical examination and intrigue will find that both evolve in attractive, engrossing manners as Borges and Nick explore matters of fate, time, and the methods and outcomes of arrogant fools.

The threads of humor that consistently run throughout the story line add a fine dimension of laughter that is unexpectedly delightful as the story progresses. From ironic twists of fate to predictions that lead the characters to consider the underlying impact and presence of what is likely their last case, Hartman creates a thought-provoking series of events and character interactions with their world that transcends the usual approach of a detective piece to enter into the realms of philosophical debates and reflection: "He liked to say that he could see through the veil of appearances into the essence of things. But in this, his last case as a detective, his perception had been spectacularly wrong. His ideal woman's ugliness - invisible to his clouded eyes - was an accurate reflection of her depraved heart."

The result is another powerfully rendered 'Philosophical Detective' story that (perhaps sadly, but efficiently) concludes Borges and Nick's associations, giving the reader much more to think about regarding the hearts and minds of humanity than a simple whodunit alone. Between the story's compelling evolution, its delightful and whimsical character interactions and jokes, and its unexpected connections between philosophy and mystery, the result is quite simply a delight and a standout in the mystery genre's usually-staid world.

Libraries and readers looking for literary blends of philosophy and mystery, cemented by thought-provoking interludes and action that embraces a wide cast of characters and possible outcomes, will find The Philosophical Detective's Last Case a unique and delightful standout.

Protective Instincts
Ann Jeffries
New View Literature
www.newviewliterature.com
9781941603123, $15.95 Paper/$0.99 Kindle

https://www.amazon.com/Protective-Instincts-Alex-Mont-Kids-Episode/dp/1941603122

Protective Instincts is the 24th book in the Family Reunion---Wisdom of the Ancestors series and the fifth episode in the Alex-Mont Kids Saga, and opens with nineteen-year-old Professor Dena Montgomery's involvement in the abduction of two children whom she encounters on her way home from work.

The violent confrontation leaves a dead man and two traumatized young children in her hands, sparking her protective instincts towards the kids even as an investigation of these circumstances reveals political complications and an unexpected air of romance that threaten to change her life.

Dena is already an extraordinary young woman in any definition of the term, but her many abilities are tested as the story unfolds to connect her with young, handsome Greek police investigator Darrius Pappas and the complicated case he has been handed. As he probes Dena's life and discovers that she is even more mysterious than initial circumstances indicate, Darrius becomes immersed in global economic affairs far beyond his experience and calling.

Readers and Darrius learn more about Dena's large family and their connections as the story unfolds, leading into a second murder that brings new revelations into entanglements that result in invasions of privacy and boundaries alike.

Ann Jeffries is skilled at carrying the microcosm of a kidnapping into bigger-picture thinking, powering it with an evolving relationship that doesn't go where readers expect it will and including the examinations and circumstances that bring these extraordinary characters to the stars.

Libraries and readers seeking a focus on mystery, relationship developments, intrigue, and a futuristic mission will find Protective Instincts a powerhouse of a read that specializes in unexpected developments which immerse readers in extraordinary family developments and political entanglements.

The Tree of Life
Daniel G. Miller
Houndstooth Books
9781737646334, $14.99 Paper/$4.99 Kindle

https://www.amazon.com/Tree-Life-Knowledge/dp/1737646331

The Tree of Life, the third book in the Tree of Knowledge series, opens with the specter of Eva Fix hiding in a cold, windowless basement, a detonator in hand. This prologue sets the stage for a story laced with intrigue and mystery as Princeton math professor Albert's discovery of the Tree of Knowledge is threatened by an insurgent movement that also knows the secret of changing the future, and desires to get their hands on it for their own nefarious purposes.

One man alone can't stop such a force, so Albert taps the power of a secretive global network dedicated to toppling tyrants around the world -- only to find that his association with a different kind of devil brings with it new challenges to his moral and ethical position. When did Albert's discovery first lead him to become a terrorist, and how can he fight against the forces of a new world order which defy his own integrity and lead him to question whether he's chosen the right side?

Daniel G. Miller creates a steady-paced, action-packed story that juxtaposes moments of spiritual and social revelation with philosophical and ethical examinations to test readers' minds and their affinity for Albert's cause. From Eva's association with the Sword of Eden movement to Albert's journeys that lead him to feel "...he had been transported to an alien planet that was mimicking an American suburb," the story's edgy changes keep readers changing their minds and alliances during a fast-paced technothriller embedded with Christian revelations and examinations.

Libraries and readers seeking stories that operate on different levels of social, political, and spiritual inspection will find that while The Tree of Life can stand nicely on its own, it works best in conjunction with the other books in the trilogy. It develops the characters further, moving the story into different directions to expand its social and political movements with adventurous twists and turns. These make the outcome completely unpredictable and the story hard to put down.

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