The Winter Queen by Boris Akunin

Setting and basic plot

The Winter Queen is set in 1870s Moscow, St. Petersburg, and London and features Boris Akunin's sleuth, Erast Fandorin. Fandorin is a young paper pusher for a criminal investigative unit. He is quite bored with clerking and jumps at the chance to investigate the suicide of a wealthy student. Fandorin's superior believes this to be an open and shut case -- though a bit curious -- and sends his young clerk off to investigate. In the course of his investigation, Fandorin stumbles into a vast and international revolutionary conspiracy.

Language and writing

The language and writing are sometimes quite glorious. For instance, here is the opening line:

"On Monday the thirteenth of May in the year 1876, between the hours of two and three in the afternoon on a day that combined the freshness of spring with the warmth of summer, numerous individuals in Moscow's Alexander Gardens unexpectedly found themselves eyewitnesses to the perpetration of an outrage that flagrantly transgressed the bounds of common decency."

Random thoughts

As I read The Winter Queen, I kept thinking, "Wow. This is so Russian. This author writes like a Russian. Wow." Then I would remind myself that Boris Akunin IS Russian with a wonderful translator. I believe what kept throwing me was how reminiscent of 19th century Russian authors Akunin seemed. More specifically, Akunin reminded me of Gogol and Chekhov -- a bit romantic and moody, a bit surreal, with a touch of the grotesque. This particular combination has the overall effect of discreet humor. There was also a Sherlockian sense about the novel with a focus on Fandorin's deductive reasoning. Fandorin must peel back multiple layers and each layer changes the "landscape" so that he must reorient and deduce again. Oh, and Fandorin has a nemesis.

Characterization

Fandorin is naive and likeable in this opener to the series, but expect him to develop over the life of the series.

The "bad guys" are easy enough to spot, but interesting. How many authors write in a pedagogical puppeteer and "revolution through education"? I don't want to say too much and spoil it for future readers, but there are definitely some interesting characters.

The ending and a look to the future

The ending is bittersweet, but allows one to anticipate the next in the series. I look forward to reading more of Akunin's Erast Fandorin books to see how he develops this character and to experience some more of that "Oh yeah, this IS a Russian novel" surprise. *smile*

I read this for the Merely Mystery Reading Challenge hosted by Literary Feline.

A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters

Title: A Morbid Taste for Bones (Book One of the Brother Cadfael Mysteries)
Author: Ellis Peters
Year: 1977

Synopsis: "In the remote Welsh mountain village of Gwytherin lies the grave of Saint Winifred. Now, in 1137, the ambitious head of Shrewsbury Abbey had decided to acquire the sacred remains for his Benedictine order. Native Welshman Brother Cadfael is sent on the expedition to translate and finds the rustic villagers of Gwytherin passionately divided by the Benedictine's offer for the saint's relics. Canny, wise, and all too worldly, he isn't surprised when this taste for bones leads to bloody murder. The leading opponent to moving the grave has been shot dead with a mysterious arrow, and some say Winifred herself held the bow. Brother Cadfael knows a carnal hand did the killing. But he doesn't know that his plan to unearth a murderer may dig up a case of love and justice... where the wages of sin may be scandal or Cadfael's own ruin." (from the back cover)

I tend to read mysteries during the winter season. I'm not sure why that is exactly, but there is something about the early darkness and the cold that makes me want to curl up under my reading lamp with a cup of hot tea and become immersed in the puzzling, unknown, and strange. Perhaps it is the idea of something enigmatic, covert, or cryptic that seems to set so well with me when it is dark and cold. The season just seems to match the atmosphere.

With all that said, A Morbid Taste for Bones is pretty low key as far as mysteries go. There is no gore, nor is the tension terribly high, and what excitement there is comes mainly at the end. I was a bit surprised that the physical historical setting is not a great focus. Instead, Peters chooses to focus on the main character, Brother Cadfael, a Benedictine monk, and the politics and power plays of the Medieval church.

Peters wrote the Brother Cadfael series later in her life. Perhaps this gave her a greater ability to empathize with her older character, because she captured him well. Cadfael has joined the cloister as a "retirement job." He has already lived a very worldly life. This makes him a perceptive, patient, and watchful personality. He understands the ambitions and motivations of others, and this makes him good at solving crime.

Cadfael also has a wry sense of humor. In one scene, he is listening to a younger Brother rant about the ambitions of their Prior and his plans to dig up the bones of a saint and bring them back to the Abbey as relics. While we get the impression that Cadfael does indeed find this activity a bit repulsive, he can not be overtly subversive:

"I don't see why they should want to dig up the poor lady's dust. It seems like charnel-house business to me, not church business. And you think exactly the same," he said firmly, and stared out his elder, eye to eye.

"When I want to hear my echo," said Brother Cadfael, "I will speak first."

I like Brother Cadfael not only for his wry humor, but also for his quiet subversiveness. As I mentioned above, Cadfael is not young and inexperienced. He understands the need to work within a quite intermingled societal and religious structure, but he comprehends all too well the harm that comes from power plays by the ruling bodies, both "prince" and "bishop." His subversiveness flows from his compassion and sense of justice.

"It was a long time since he had exercised some of his more questionable skills, he was glad to be confirmed in believing that he had forgotten none of them, and that every one had a meritorious use in the end."

I am very excited to read more of the Brother Cadfael mysteries! If you are looking for a well paced novel with a very likable main character and a Medieval setting, then you might just like this series too.

Also reviewed by: things mean a lot



I read this for the Merely Mystery Reading Challenge hosted by Literary Feline.

Queen of the Night by J.A. Jance

Title: Queen of the Night
Author: J. A. Jance
Publisher: William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
Date: 7/27/2010

Queen of the Night is the fourth in the Walker family series. This series has always struck me as a bit darker and grittier than Jance's other series, but with Queen of the Night she seems to have written a more intricate suspense novel that takes the focus off of the evil deeds of the bad guys and places it on the connections between characters. The resultant beauty in those connections and the blessings that can come out of tragic events and circumstances is a major focus in this book.

The complex character relationships could have been difficult to follow, but Jance's story flowed exceptionally well and made those connections effortless to follow. The relational aspect of the book also had an extraordinary symmetry to it -- rather like the "circle of life" concept. There was a lyricism to this story that I haven't fully experienced in Jance's other works and, I think, makes this one shine above the rest.

For those, like me, who have grown up in the Southwest there is plenty of regional atmosphere. The desert flora is represented by the Night-blooming Cereus which blooms once a year and has symbolic significance to the Tohono O'oodham people. Jance also weaves into her own story some of the legends of the Tohono O'oodham people (Desert People).

This is, hands down, the best Jance novel I have ever read. Get it. Read it. Really.

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Thank you to the publisher, William Morrow an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, for providing me with a review copy of Queen of the Night through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.

BOOK REVIEW: Girl with Skirt of Stars by Jennifer Kitchell

Title: Girl with Skirt of Stars
Author: Jennifer Kitchell
Publisher: Pronghorn Press
Year: 2009
A LibraryThing Early Reviewers Book

Lilli Chischilly is a Navajo lawyer who has found a pair of mutilated coyote carcasses carefully laid out on the hood of her vehicle. This is clearly a message, but the meaning of the message is a mystery. In the meantime, Jerome, Lilli's childhood soul mate, has returned to the Navajo Nation and alludes to a dark and burdensome secret that he wants Lilli to discover. Lilli has this on her mind when her boss asks her to escort presidential candidate Lee, his family and handlers on a river raft trip down the Grand Canyon. Lilli rightly guesses that this is a publicity stunt and has everything to do with the politics of water and land use that is ever present in the Western United States. If all of this isn't enough, a sniper with a grudge over a century old massacre is stalking the presidential candidate and his family with massacre plans of his own.

The plot of Girl with Skirt of Stars is fast paced and kept me reading into the wee hours of the morning. I did find the narrative a bit choppy and the characters lacking in depth, though, and this kept me from attaching to and caring very deeply about them. This type of book seems to call for better character development than Kitchell provided. There were also elements of the story that seemed quite important yet were never developed and just got dropped at the end. This is Kitchell's debut novel, so I'm hoping that these shortfalls are something that will improve in future.

As a native of the Southwest, I thought the descriptions of the Four Corners area were beautiful and I was drawn into the setting. The inclusion of quite a few Navajo words (there is a glossary at the end of the book) and how those words "mean" within the Navajo culture was a fantastic look into a little known people group. Language nuance is an important part of Kitchell's story.

Overall, I was pleased with Girl with Skirt of Stars and would recommend it to those interested in a fast paced novel set in the Southwest.

I would like to thank the publisher, Pronghorn Press, for providing me with a review copy of Girl with Skirt of Stars.

BOOK REVIEW: The Silver Swan by Benjamin Black

Title: The Silver Swan
Author: Benjamin Black
Publisher: Picador
Year: 2009
A LibraryThing Early Reviewers book

The Silver Swan is a follow up to Christine Falls and features Garrett Quirke, a pathologist who just can't resist investigating a mystery; in this case, a suicide which turns out to be a murder. Benjamin Black (a pseudonym for John Banville) uses a noir structure in The Silver Swan to probe the human psyche. This probing of the darker areas of human activity and the human soul does not make for a very uplifting read, but that should be expected when dealing with the noir genre. The Silver Swan is full of typical noir elements: cynical characters, bleak settings, and a sense of hopelessness. I'm not a big fan of noir due to these elements and I'm sure this affected my enjoyment of both Christine Falls and The Silver Swan. In spite of my lack of enjoyment, it is clear that Black/Banville is a fantastic writer. I enjoyed his use of metaphor, and the ability to evoke such a strong emotional reaction left me in awe of his skill. I look forward to reading those works of his outside of the noir genre.

I would like to thank the publisher, Picador, for providing me with a review copy of The Silver Swan.

BOOK REVIEW: The Glassblower of Murano by Marina Fiorato

Title: The Glassblower of Murano
Author: Marina Fiorato
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Date: June 2009 (U.S. edition)
Reason for reading: LibraryThing Early Reviewers

First line: "As Corradino Manin looked on the lights of San Marco for the last time, Venice from the lagoon seemed to him a golden constellation in the dark blue velvet dusk."

A little romance, a little history, and a little mystery make The Glassblower of Murano a fast and enjoyable read. Told from both the 17th century perspective of Venetian master glassblower Corradino Manin and the perspective of his 21st century descendant Leonora, you'll get glimpses of a Venice that in some ways hasn't changed much.

The Romance
Leonora (Nora) flees her failed marriage in London to begin life anew as a glassblower in Venice. It is here that she meets a handsome Venetian man who looks like he has stepped out of a Renaissance painting. Nora herself resembles Botticelli's "Primavera." Of course. Alessandro, the lovely Venetian man, is quite busy and not able to spend much time with Nora so it is no surprise that there are misunderstandings when his beautiful Italian ex-girlfriend surfaces. Typical. This part of the story is not particularly original, but it works. I was more taken with the romance of Venice and the beautiful descriptions that made me want to get on a plane and star gaze into a dusky blue sky while I lounged on jewel colored silk cushions surrounded by the soft light of hurricane lamps and tea lights glowing through the Moorish mullions of the windows that face my veranda. And don't forget the glass of prosecco.

The History
The history is the history of Venice and glassblowing. I thought the author did a very nice job crafting a story around historical Venice and the craft of glassblowing. Glass making in Venice is more advanced than it is in other parts of the 17th century world and so Venetian glass is highly prized and its secrets carefully guarded. This historical monopoly along with the machinations of a corrupt and power hungry republic are the historical focus of the novel.

The Mystery
The mystery surrounds Corradino Manin, a master glassblower who holds the secret of making flat reflective glass. He has long been a city hero and his name graces various places in Venice. The current viability of one of the ancient glassblowing factories falls on his reputation, so it is troubling when information comes to light that he may have betrayed his own country to sell Venetian glass making secrets to the French. Leonora, along with the guidance of an old professor and help from Alessandro, pursues the truth of what happened. Was Corradino a traitor? Is he redeemed in the end?

Overall, I was more intrigued by the descriptions and history of Venice, and by the rather cloak and dagger mystery than I was by the romance. Fortunately, the romance was blended nicely with the rest of the novel leaving me with a very enjoyable read that I can recommend. A nice summer read.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

BOOK REVIEW: Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey

Title: Wife of the Gods
Author: Kwei Quartey
Publisher: Random House
Year: July 14, 2009
Reason for reading: LibraryThing Early Reviewers

First line: "The forest was black and Darko was afraid to enter."

Inspector Darko Dawson is part of Criminal Investigations in the Ghanaian capital of Accra. He is called to the small town of Ketanu to help solve the murder of a young NGO volunteer and med student named Gladys. Gladys has previously clashed with a local fetish priest and a local healer, yet a young ruffian is targeted by Ketanu law enforcement as the "doer."

Inspector Dawson has a history with the town of Ketanu. His mother was last seen here before she mysteriously disappeared twenty-five years ago. So it is with some apprehension that he returns to work this case and reacquaint himself with his mother's sister and her family.

One of the best aspects of Wife of the Gods is the character of Darko Dawson. He is a family man with strong loyalties to his wife and young son. He also has quite a temper and a keen sense of justice, the combination of which sometimes gets him into trouble. Among his other foibles is a lusty admiration for the female form and the occasional consort with a known thief in order to obtain the weed he smokes to unwind. Regardless, Inspector Dawson is ultimately likeable in spite of, or perhaps because of, his flaws. I look forward to the author's development of this character in future novels.

Regional novels are a favorite of mine. They allow me an enjoyable opportunity to learn about places with which I am unfamiliar and to revisit places that I love. Wife of the Gods was a chance to learn something about the place, people and customs of Ghana. For instance, some "teenage girls are offered by their families to fetish priests as trokosi, or Wives of the Gods" (from the back cover). This practice is a form of slavery and is controversial amongst the Ghanaians.

You may have heard this book compared to the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books by Alexander McCall Smith. I don't really find Smith's and Quartey's books to be similar except that they are: a) both regional detective novels, b) both character driven, and c) both set in Africa. Smith's books are set in Botswana and Quartey's book is set in Ghana. Quartey has his own voice which I found much grittier than the charm that infuses Smith's books. They are both fantastic storytellers, but they are different.

If you like character-driven-regional-detective novels, I encourage you to read Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey. It is a strong beginning to a new series.

Rating: 4 out of 5

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The author, Kwei Quartey, was raised in Ghana by an African American mother and a Ghanian father. Visit his website for more information about the author, his book, and the country of Ghana.

BOOK REVIEW: White Nights by Ann Cleeves

Title: White Nights: A Shetland Island Thriller
Author: Ann Cleeves
Publisher: Macmillan
Date of publication: September 2008

White Nights follows Raven Black in the Shetland Islands Quartet, but it is not necessary to have read these books in order. I didn't feel that I was missing anything by skipping straight to book two.

I'm always curious about the titles of books and how they fit into the story. The phrase "white nights" refers to the constant daylight during the summer months in the extreme Northern hemisphere. Several characters mention the somewhat maddening and sleep disturbing effect that the lack of darkness has on some people and the reader is left to wonder if this will play into the murder mystery. White Nights is primarily a who-done-it that I found to be well crafted. I was not able to guess the identity of the murderer. The author did a wonderful job developing the story and keeping me in suspense. I was able to put a few pieces of the whole together before she revealed the identity and motivation of the murderer, but I did not guess the ultimate reveal ahead of time.

The characters in White Nights were developed well enough to make me care about them and I hope that some of them are/will be recurring in her other Shetland Island books. Beyond the mystery, the author brought up issues regarding the place of family, community and belonging that helped further connect me to the characters.

I was very satisfied by the atmosphere of the book. It reminded me somewhat of an Iris Murdoch novel that I read years ago (the title eludes me right now). The extreme Northern setting and harsh landscape of the Shetland Islands gave the novel an edge and a haunting quality that I thought suited the story as did the cloistered atmosphere of a small village where secrets are kept for many years.

I've already purchased Raven Black and will be running out to buy books three and four in this series when they become available. I highly recommend White Nights to mystery lovers and those who like atmospheric reads.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Advance Review Edition graciously provided by the publisher through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program.

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Note to other reviewers: If you've written a review for this book, please let me know by posting the permanent URL for your review in the comments. I'll be happy to add a link to your review with my post.

BOOK REVIEW: Desert Noir by Betty Webb

This book does indeed include noir elements as the title might suggest.

Anyone who has ever lived in the Phoenix area will recognize much of the setting. Longtime residents will appreciate the author's commentary on the changes to their hometown. The Phoenix area has changed over the years from a "big town" with clean air, wide vistas, and low crime to a sprawling metropolis with smog and the usual big city problems. The author's own heartbreak over these unflattering changes is evident through her main character, Lena.

Lena Jones is a likeable wiseass investigator who tries not to think about her tragic childhood in the foster care system. She has patchy memories of her own parents and life with them before becoming a ward of the state. She begins the book as an atheist, but a strange mystical experience in the desert as she struggles to survive leads her to believe there is something more than what is on the everyday surface of life. She's not sure what it is or what to call it, but it serves to help her avoid a consuming hatred and bitterness when faced with the evil actions of others. She is able to see the sad and tragic souls buried beneath ugly and criminal behavior and it is this that allows her to do her job compassionately.

As a first novel, I found the plot well crafted and the characters affective (yes, I do mean affective); the author makes you feel something, sometimes strongly, for each of her characters. I was a bit disappointed in the rather high number of "typos" the publisher failed to correct before printing.

A well done regional mystery. I'll be back for more from this author.

Rating: 4 out of 5

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Note to other reviewers: If you've written a review for this book, please let me know by posting the permanent URL for your review in the comments. I'll be happy to add a link to your review with my post.

BOOK REVIEW: Still Life by Louise Penny

I found this book while browsing the shelves at my public library. I've got towers of books to read at home, so what was I thinking when I checked out this book?? Whatever the reason, I'm glad I brought it home to read.

Still Life is a mystery cozy featuring a small Canadian village in Southern Quebec called Three Pines, eccentric characters, and, of course, a murder.

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is called upon to solve the death of Jane Neal, a beloved and elderly member of Three Pines. It is inconceivable to the residents that anyone would murder Jane, though, curiously, it appears that one of them is the murderer. Chief Inspector Gamache and his team must invade the privacy of these villagers in order to find out the who and why of the murder.

Much of the interest of Still Life lies in the characters themselves. Peter and Clara Morrow, both artists, struggle with hidden jealousies and marital communication; Ben Hadley, Peter's life-long friend, harbors a secret desire for Clara; the teenage Phillipe Croft has recently given in to an unexplainable surliness and withdrawn from his family; Ruth, an elderly embittered poet, is cruel and abrasive and may have been responsible for the death of one of Jane's friends; Yolande, Jane's niece, appears to be the sole recipient of Jane's estate and has an unhealthy attitude of entitlement along with a husband whose major talents are criminal behavior and sneering at others.

While the Chief Inspector sorts through the various undercurrents of village life, he also contends with an insecure and arrogant new detective, Yvette Nichols. Gamache takes his role as mentor seriously and is a patient teacher who offers Yvette many opportunities to learn and grow.

A major theme in many mysteries is redemption. Not only does the reader want to see the crime solved and justice served, but we expect to see the redemption of characters that we don't like. Mysteries of the cozy variety tend to deliver a tidy ending that allows the reader to place characters in either a good, bad, or redeemed category. Louise Penny doesn't follow this pattern. Several of her characters continue in their unlikeable actions and attitudes despite the helpful hand that is held out to them ... much like real life. I believe the title of the book describes this lack of redemption. A still life can refer to a life that is ended (e.g. Jane), but it can also refer to a life that doesn't move, a lack of growth and maturation ... a lack of character redemption.

Still Life is Louise Penny's debut novel. It is written and plotted well. The characters are well drawn and memorable. I look forward to reading the other two books in this series ... soon!

Also reviewed at:
Thoughts of Joy