Reading in Reykjavík

If you’re sensitive to SPOILERS , don’t read beyond the plot summary. I noticed this book because of the cover, which is reminiscent of an old-fashioned children's book (until you look closer and notice the skull-and-crossbones snowflakes). Genre: Murder mystery Year of publication: 1994 (this edition 2009) Type of mystery: Historical cosy. No. in series: 1 Series detective: Daisy Dalrymple Type of investigator: Amateur (and police) Setting & time: England, 1920s The Honourable Miss Daisy Dalrymple arrives at Wentwater Court just after the beginning of the new year to write and photograph a story for Town & Country magazine. She already knows a couple of young people there, but in addition she meets Lord Wentwater, his children and his lovely young second wife, who seems to be very troubled and afraid of their houseguest, Lord Astwick. When Astwick is found drowned in the skating pond, everyone assumes it was an accident, but when the police arrive on ...

Originally published in June 2004, on my original 52 Books blog. Author: Alexander McCall Smith Year published: 2001 Genre: Detective story, literature Where got: Public library It’s easy to imagine you’re in Africa when you’re sweating away - the sun has been shining all day and the temperature inside my apartment is around 28 °C and feels hotter. The story: The detective agency is having financial difficulties and to save money Precious has moved the office to her fiancé’s office. Mr. Matekoni is not feeling well, but refuses to see a doctor, and Precious has to go away for a few days to find out if a client’s sister-in-law is really trying to poison her husband. Meanwhile, her assistant/secretary, Mma Makutsi, takes over both the agency and the garage and runs both with efficiency. While Precious is away, she is handed a case to solve, which relates to the book’s title. Technique and plot: As with the other two books, the prose is beautiful in its simplicity, even po...

Originally published in July 2004, on my original 52 Books blog. Author: Alexander McCall Smith Year published: 2002 Genre: Literature, detective story Where got: Public library The story: The agency has got some competition and Mma Ramotswe and her assistant/secretary Mma Makutsi are both worried about the future of the business. In order to make some extra money for herself, Mma Makutsi starts the business the book takes its title from, giving evening classes in typing to men, and one of her students falls in love with her. Meanwhile, Mma Ramotswe takes a case investigating whether a husband is cheating on his wife, and makes a disturbing discovery. Another client asks her to track down some people he hasn’t seen for about 20 years, so he can make restitution for things he did to them. Both cases present their own unique difficulties, but with her common sense and philosophical way of looking at things, Mma Ramotswe solves both cases to the satisfaction of all involved (ex...

Originally published in June 2004, on my original 52 Books blog. I went to explore the new location of my favourite second-hand bookshop (which I approve of, although some of the mystery is gone - along with the mustiness) and came home with this book. It’s the second in a series, with all the books titled Face Down “something” . Author: Kathy Lynn Emerson Year published: 1998 Genre: Mystery Sub-genre(s): Historical Where got: Second-hand book store The story: Susanna, Lady Appleton, is sent to Madderly Castle, ostensibly to help Lady Madderly finish a book on herbology, but in reality to provide an excuse for her husband, Robert, to come there to investigate the murder of a man who was apparently involved in a conspiracy against Queen Elizabeth I. Shortly after arriving, the body count starts to mount and Susanna’s young protége, Catherine, falls in love with of one of the prime suspects. Solving the crimes takes the combined efforts of Susanna, Catherine, Robert and a...

Originally published in November 2004, on my original 52 Books blog. Author: Alexander McCall Smith Year published: 2000 Where got: Public library Genre: Detective story, literature Had a sleepless night and rather than allow myself to be frustrated over it, I decided to read a book and picked Tears of the Giraffe , the second of Alexander McCall Smith’s books about Precious Ramotswe, Botswana’s only lady private detective. The first one was the wonderful The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency . The story: Precious has been handed her most difficult case to date: to find out what happened to a young American who disappeared on the edge of the Kalahari desert 10 years ago. In the meantime, Mr. Matekoni gets talked into taking in a pair of orphans, and his maid plots to get rid of Precious so she can continue to meet her male “friends” at Mr. Matekoni’s house during the day. Last, but not least, Precious’ secretary, Mma Makutsi, gets promoted to assistant detective and gets her ...

Originally published in October 2004, in 2 parts. Book 34 in my first 52 books challenge. Author: Jasper Fforde Year published: 2001 Pages: 384 Genre: Fantasy Where got: Public library When I first heard about this book I thought to myself “this sounds interesting”, and then forgot about it. Then a discussion started about it in an online reading forum I participate in, and my interest was rekindled. I wasn’t certain I wanted to own it, so finding it in the library was lucky. The Story: Some SPOILERS ahead Thursday Next is drawn from her relatively normal existence as a literary detective into an adventure when she is called in to identify arch-criminal Acheron Hades. Things get personal when he kills her ex-boyfriend and kidnaps her aunt and uncle and her uncle’s invention, a machine that enables people to visit any literary work. Thursday must follow him into the original manuscript of Jane Eyre in order to prevent him from killing Jane and altering literary histo...

Genre: Mystery (cosy) Year of publication: 1951 No. in series: 15 Series detective: Miss Maud Silver Type of mystery: Murder Type of investigator: Private detective Setting & time: England, just after WWII Miss Silver arrives in a small village to visit a friend and a few days later is asked to discover the truth in a murder case. A man who has just returned to the village after an absence of 20 years has been found murdered, and right at the top of the suspect list are his former fiancé who broke off their engagement 20 years earlier, and her nephew, but there are also at least two others who could have done it. The former fiancé happens to be the love interest of the Chief Constable of the district who is an old friend of Miss Silver’s, a fact that guarantees that she is given full access to all evidence and testimonies, enabling her to unearth evidence that the police has overlooked, solve the case and unite two sets of lovers. SPOILERS ahead This is an unusu...

Here is the seventh book I read for the Bibliophilic Books Challenge , which puts me just past the halfway point of the Bibliomaniac level. This book fits into the challenge in several ways: The main sleuth is a journalist, and her writing course is featured and the classes described several times; the other teachers are writing or have written books (one is a world-famous author) - two even have motives for murder related to their books; and the students are writing assignments that are part of what drives a section of the story. Genre: Mystery Year of publication: 2003 No. in series: 1 Series detective: McLeod Dulane Type of mystery: Murder, cosy Type of investigator: A, journalist and lecturer in non-fiction writing at Princeton University Setting & time: Princeton University campus, New Jersey, USA Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist McLeod Dulane is thrilled to be given a chance to teach journalistic writing at Princeton University, but her enthusiasm wanes so...

According to Amazon UK this book is due out in Britain in an English translation in July. I could find no information about publication in the USA. Original Icelandic title: Aska (Ash) Genre: Murder mystery Year of publication: 2007 No. in series: 3 Series detective: Thora Gudmundsdottir Type of mystery: Murder Type of investigator: Lawyer Setting & time: Reykjavik and the Westman Islands, Iceland, 2007. Three desiccated corpses and a head are discovered in the basement of a house that is being excavated after having lain under volcanic ash since the 1973 volcanic eruption in the Westman Islands . It falls to lawyer Þóra (Thora) to represent the man who found the bodies in the basement of his childhood home, since certain facts of the matter have cast suspicion on him, not only for the deaths of the four men, but also for the recent death of a woman from the islands who is in some way connected to the head and possibly the bodies as well. Yrsa Sigurðardóttir keeps getting ...

Genre: Mystery, cosy Year of publication: 1994 No. in series: 1 Series detective: Dr. Deirdre “Didi” Quinn Nightingale, veterinarian Type of mystery: Murder Type of investigator: Amateur Setting & time: Rural New York state, contemporary A good friend of Didi’s is found dead, apparently mauled to death by wild dogs. His mistress claims he was murdered, but disappears before Didi can persuade her to reveal why she thinks so. By examining the crime scene photos and coroner’s report through the perspective of a vet, Didi realises that he must have been murdered, but has a hard time convincing the police that she is right, so she ends up investigating the case on her own. This is a pretty solid cosy murder mystery with a nicely thought out plot with some unexpected twists and red herrings. The writing is plain and straightforward and gets the story across without going into flourishes of language, and the main characters are interesting. A promising start to a series – I will de...

Book 5 in my first 52 books challenge. Originally published in several parts on February 22-22, 2004. Entry 1: Author: Alexander McCall Smith Published: 1998 Where got: public library Genre: Detective novel Reason for choosing: I first read about this book in a book review in one of the daily newspapers in Iceland. The title caught my attention and I decided that such an unusual and humorous name was very promising as to the contents of the book. So far I have not been disappointed (after reading chapter one). Entry 2: I'm quite enjoying the book so far. Here are some links with information about the author and some of his other works: About the series Publisher's website, dedicated to the series Entry 3: "I love all the people whom God made, but I especially know how to love the people who live in this place. They are my people, my brothers and sisters. It is my duty to help them to solve the mysteries in their lives. That is what I am called to do." There is som...

Year of publication: 1936 Series and no.: Lord Peter Wimsey, no. 11. Genre: Mystery Type of mystery: Sabotage, poison pen letters, attempted murder Type of investigator: Amateur, aided by a semi-professional Setting & time: Oxford, England; 1930s Story: While visiting her old college in Oxford, Harriet Vane finds an anonymous poison-pen message seemingly directed at herself. She thinks no more of it until she is invited back and taken into the confidence of the Dean and asked, due to being a mystery writer and therefore a sort of expert on criminal behaviour, to help discreetly find out who has been sending these nasty little messages to students and various members of the teaching staff and committing acts of nasty but apparently senseless sabotage around campus. Harriet feels out of her depth, but agrees to the task and, over the period of almost 2 academic semesters, diligently gathers clues, but is unable to draw any significant conclusions from them. However, once she g...

I finally found the book (under the driver's seat of my car), so here is the review. Year of publication: 1984 Series and no.: Penny Wanawake, no. 1. Genre: Mystery Type of mystery: Murder Type of investigator: Amateur (photographer) Setting & time: Washington D.C., USA; 1980s. Story: Photographer Penny Wanawake is shocked to discover that a friend of hers has been stabbed to death in a restroom at Los Angeles airport. Her search for the killer takes her to Washington D.C., into the company of the city’s diplomatic and political elite, made easy by her connections: her father is a diplomat and her mother an English Lady. Once in Washington, she delves into the world of orchid breeders where a fierce competition is taking place to be the first to breed a "black" orchid. She also uncovers some seedy secrets that someone may just be willing to kill to keep under cover. Review: Penny Wanawake was, when the first book was published, quite an unusual and exotic detec...

Icelandic title: Þriðja táknið (literally: The Third Symbol ) Genre: Mystery Year of publication: 2005 No. in series: 1 Series detective: Þóra Guðmundsdóttir Type of investigator: Lawyer Setting & time: Reykjavík (mostly), Iceland; contemporary Story: Icelandic Lawyer Þóra (Thora in English) is hired by the parents of a German history student who was found murdered in the offices of the history department of the University of Iceland. They want her to help Matthew, an investigator they have sent over from Germany, to find out why their son was murdered and why his body was mutilated. Since they are not convinced that the suspect the police have arrested is guilty, they also want Þóra and Matthew to find the real killer. The victim had been researching and comparing the history of witch hunts in Germany and Iceland and was the leader of a clique that practiced magic rituals. The mutilation of his body is connected to a magic spell found in an old grimoire, so it would seem l...

Going through my library to cull books, I discovered a number of novels, novellas and a couple of short story collections with a Christmas theme. While Christmas mysteries can be read year round, and are, in fact, sometimes best read at any other time of the year – at least if you like the holidays untarnished by thoughts of dark deeds – other Christmas fiction is usually best read in December, which is why I decided to embark on a reading spree with a Christmas theme. I am not one to let mysteries disturb me, so I am including some of those as well as the science fiction, fantasy and romance Christmas stories I found. Here is the first review. Ann Granger was my mystery author #41, and I promised I would review her as an author once I had read some more of her books. Since this one is part of the same series as the previous one, I will leave the review for until after I have read A Rare Interest in Corpses , which is from another series of hers, a historical one. Series detectives: ...

Series detective: Carlotta Carlyle No. in series: 4 Year of publication: 1991 Type of mystery: Blackmail/murder Type of investigator: Private detective Setting & time: Boston, Massachusetts, USA, late 20th century Story: Cab-driving PI Carlotta Carlyle runs into her former friend Dee Willis who is now a famous blues singer. Despite ambivalent feelings towards Dee, Carlotta accepts an assignment from her: to find their old friend Dave. At first Dee is unwilling to tell Carlotta why, but then admits that Dave seems to be trying to blackmail her. When Dee's recently fired ex-bass player is found murdered in Dee’s bed, she wants to cry off the search for Dave, but by that time Carlotta has become personally interested in finding him and discovering the truth, and enlists the help of another old friend. Review: While I have read one other book by Barnes (thus making her ineligible for the reading challenge), this was my first book about Carlotta Carlyle. I found the style sna...

Title: Katapult Series detective: Kat Colorado No. in series: 2 Year of publication: 1990 Type of mystery: Murder Type of investigator: Private investigator Setting & time: Sacramento, California, USA; late 20th century Story: Private investigator Kat Colorado is upset and angry when John, her friend and cousin by informal adoption, is found murdered. Their grandmother (John’s real and Kat’s informally adopted gran) sends Kat on a quest to find John’s killer and discover the whereabouts of his sister, who has been missing for 4 years. Kat is soon in over her head, dealing with determined criminals who will stop at nothing to stay out of jail. There is also a family drama brewing and a young streetwalker who needs to be rescued. Review and verdict: Kat Colorado is a typical hard-boiled female PI with a nose for trouble, a heart of gold and a troubled past that she wears like a medal. Unlike Jill Smith in Susan Dunlap books that I reviewed earlier, she is an almost instantly l...

Title: Karma Series detective: Jill Smith No. in series: 1 Year of publication: 1981 Type of mystery: Murder Type of investigator: Police Setting & time: Berkeley, California, USA; 1980s Story: Jill Smith is off duty when she witnesses the mysterious murder of a guru at a Buddhist temple, but as the first officer on the scene she gets to lead the investigation, which soon turns out to be anything but simple. A number of people have various reasons for wanting the victim dead, most of them have something to hide, and none are willing to reveal all they know. Review: This is an enjoyably twisty mystery, plot driven with a nice old-fashioned puzzle plot. There are a number of red herrings, and like in so many good detective novels, the murderer is hiding in plain view all the time. The negative thing is that Jill, the investigator, is in no way a unique character. She is just a typical stereotypical literary cop: married to her job, divorced because of it, seems to have few f...

Series detective: Claire Malloy No. in series: 1 Year of publication: 1986 Type of mystery: Murder Type of investigator: Amateur, aided and thwarted by police Setting & time: Arkansas, USA; mid 1980's I recently found this review which I wrote ages ago, but then put aside as I wasn't certain I should publish, as it may seem a bit too much like a rant. I decided that I would publish it, as it illustrates something that really nags me, not only about the occasional mystery, but also about some romances. It concerns behaviour that is designed to really make me lose all sympathy for characters guilty of it. Story: Claire Malloy, in spite of her unflattering opinions of romance novels, agrees to host the publication party of her friend Mildred's (aka Azalea Twilight) latest offering, Professor of Passion , a torrid story about amorous goings-on at a university. A militant feminist member of the faculty invades the party and reads passages from the book that ...

Margaret Truman, who died in January of this year, wrote a number of non-fiction books, mostly dealing with the White House and her parents, U.S. President Harry S. Truman and his wife, Bess. She also wrote a series of mysteries that take place at various landmarks in Washington D.C. In the Wikipedia article on her it is said that it has been claimed that the books were ghost-written, I suppose because someone decided it was beneath her to write mysteries. The books in the Capital Crime series can be divided into two sub-series: those that feature Annabel Reed and/or Mackenzie Smith as the detectives, and those that don’t. I read one of each, not out of any particular choice, but because those were the ones I owned. Title: Murder at the Library of Congress Detective: Annabel Reed-Smith No. in series: # 16 in the Capital Crimes series; # 8 in the sub-series featuring Annabel Read (-Smith) and Mackenzie Smith Year of publication: 1999 Type of mystery: Murder, stalking Type of inves...