Good Reads & Views

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
Fiction

What it’s about: First one of her neighbors turns up dead, then other bodies follow. Janina, or Duszejko, as she prefers to be called, is of an advanced age and lives in a remote Polish village. She does not eat meat, prefers the company of animals over humans, and quotes William Blake. She is absolutely sure she knows who is behind the deaths and inserts herself into the investigation.

Want a taste? “The best conversations are with yourself. At least there's no risk of a misunderstanding.” “Being healthy is an insecure state and does not bode well. It's better to be ill in a quiet way, then at least we know what we're going to die of.”

Reviewers say: “Tokarczuk's novel succeeds as both a suspenseful murder mystery and a powerful and profound meditation on human existence and how a life fits into the world around it. Novels this thrilling don't come along very often” (Publishers Weekly). “In her depictions of her characters and their worlds both internal and external Tokarczuk has created something entirely new” (Kirkus Reviews).

Author info: in 2018 Tokarczuk won the Man Booker Prize International for her novel Flights and in 2019 she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

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Twisted Twenty-Six by Janet Evanovich
Fiction

What it’s about: Stephanie Plum’s Grandma Mazur is a widow...again. This time her marriage lasted a whole 45 minutes. The unlucky groom was one Jimmy Rosolli, local gangster, lothario (senior division) and heart attack waiting to happen.  As a result, she’s got unwelcome attention from his former “business partners” who think she’s keeping information.

Starring:  Stephanie Plum, a New Jersey bounty hunter.

About the Author: Over the course of the last 25 years, Janet Evanovich has written a staggering 23 #1 New York Times bestsellers in the Stephanie Plum series. In addition to the Plum novels, Janet has co-written the New York Times bestselling Fox and O'Hare novels (including The Big Kahuna with Peter Evanovich), the Knight and Moon novels, the Lizzy and Diesel series, the Alexandra Barnaby novels, and she also coauthored a graphic novel, Troublemaker, with her daughter, Alex.

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The Long Call by Ann Cleeves
Fiction

What it is: This first installment in the new Two rivers series by Ann Cleeves, author of the excellent Vera and Shetland series, introduces detective Matthew Venn. An investigation into the stabbing death of a man and the disappearance of two girls with Down Syndrome all turn up connections to the Woodyard Centre, a multi-use community arts centre in Devon, England, run by Matthew’s husband Jonathan.

Want a taste? “The road climbed steeply and then they were looking down at the village of Lovacott: a group of houses clustered around a small square, which was hardly more than the main street widened. A shop that seemed to sell everything, a pub. There was nothing picturesque here. No thatch. It would never have featured in an episode of Midsomer Murders.”

Reviewers say: “Cleeves makes good use of Devon local color and populates this subtle, expertly paced mystery with distinctive supporting characters” (Publishers Weekly).

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Owl Be Home for Christmas by Donna Andrews
Fiction

The Victim: Dr. Oliver Frogmore, a legend in his own mind. An ornithologist, he’s crashed Owl Fest and is doing his obnoxious best to make it all about himself. After rising to new heights of rudeness at the conference banquet, he expires dramatically, surrounded by 200 people who despise him.

The Series Detective: Meg Langslow, who’s running the conference for her grandfather, famous zoologist Dr. J. Montgomery Blake. Terminally competent and organized, she adds ‘solving the mystery’ to her to-do list. As usual.

The Locale: The Caerphilly Inn, a 5-star hotel snowed in for Christmas. Murder is a challenge for their superb service, but they intend to rise to the occasion.

Is it for you? If you like funny mysteries, grab this book! In fact, try the whole series, starting with Murder with Peacocks.

Big Sky by Kate Atkinson
Fiction

Featuring: The return, after nine years, of private investigator Jackson Brodie—brooding, compassionate, and unable to resist rescuing others. In this case, Brodie stumbles on a murder that may be linked to a sex trafficking ring. Also featuring Jackson’s “protégé,” who reappears from When Will There Be Good News? If you are new to Jackson Brodie, start with the first book in the series—Case Histories.

Why you might like it: Atkinson excels at creating characters to care about—she really gets you inside their heads, revealing their inner lives and motivations. Her compelling storyline moves back and forth in time and is told from multiple perspectives, giving it depth and complexity. The multiple storylines intertwine in unlikely ways, but one of Brodie’s maxims is "A coincidence is just an explanation waiting to happen."

Reviewers say: Brodie “is not so much the central character as the grumpy, anxious, largehearted gravitational field that attracts a motley assortment of lost souls and love interests…. The deaths and disappearances that Jackson investigates change with every book, but the human heart remains the central mystery. The welcome return of an existential detective" (Kirkus Reviews).

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The Mausoleum by David Mark
Fiction

What it’s about: The year is 2010. Two old women are waiting for a dying old man to wake up so they can find out what he knows. The women’s story is told in alternating narratives and skips back to 1967 when the women first met in the graveyard of an isolated village by the Scottish border. WWII, espionage, POWs, Nazis, betrayal, they are all part of the story.

Reviewers say: “Deft writing, a plot filled with strange and unexpected twists, vivid characters, and a constant feeling of foreboding make this a gripping and unusual read” (Booklist). “Mark is writing at the top of his game” (Publishers Weekly).

Author notes: Mark is also the author of an excellent series of police procedurals, starting with The Dark Winter, which introduces DS Aector McAvoy.

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The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz
Nonfiction

What it’s about: The mother of a well-known actor makes arrangements for her funeral and ends up murdered hours later. A fictionalized Horowitz, and eccentric police detective Hawthorne, are on the case. Twisty, and great fun.

Want a taste? “As a rule, I don’t go to funerals. I find them too horrible and upsetting and the older I get, of course, the more invitations I receive. As a favour to my friends, I’ll make sure that none of them are told the date of mine.”

Reviewers say: “Horowitz's mystery is as cleverly constructed as the classic whodunits of the golden age, populated by fascinating characters and peppered with fair-play clues” (Publishers Weekly).

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You’re Dead by Chris Knopf
Fiction

What it’s about: Dr. Waters, an organizational psychologist for an aerospace manufacturer, comes home one night to find the dismembered head of his boss lying in a pool of blood in a guest bedroom. When the rest of the body shows up in Water’s storage locker, his mortgage is paid off, and a large sum of money ends up in his checking account, he becomes suspect #1.

Reviewers say: “Finally, a professional-grade detection-cum-actioner with a hero who actually has a logical reason for being so emotionally disengaged. More, please” (Kirkus).

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The Lost Man by Jane Harper
Fiction

What it’s about: Brothers Nathan and Bub haven’t seen each other in months, even though they are neighbors in the remote Australian outback. Now they are brought together when their brother Cameron’s desiccated corpse is discovered a few miles from his fully functioning truck. Why would Cam walk away, without taking water and food, in an area where you might not see anyone for days and the hot and dry conditions can kill a grown man in no time at all? Was it an accident, murder, suicide? Suspicions start to take hold and long-buried family secrets are revealed. 

Reviewers say: “Harper's masterful narrative places readers right in the middle of a desolate landscape that's almost as alien as the moon's surface, where the effects of long-term isolation are always a concern. The mystery of Cam's death is at the dark heart of an unfolding family drama that will leave readers reeling, and the final reveal is a heartbreaker. A twisty slow burner by an author at the top of her game” (Kirkus).

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The Vanishing Box by Elly Griffiths
Fiction

Starring: Magician Max Mephisto and his daughter Ruby, Christmas 1953 at the Brighton Hippodrome!

What it’s about: Girls linked to the Living Statues act which shares the bill are being found dead, elaborately posed in historical tableaux, and Max, Ruby, and the police all find their lives upended as they search for the killer.

Series alert: Fourth in the Magic Men mystery series