Reading in Reykjavík

Michael Innes is best known for his Appleby series, but this is a non-series book, albeit one that takes place in the same world. Appleby is even mentioned once in the book, and it is stated that he is no longer with the police. The detective in the story is one of his successors at the Yard. Year of publication: 1949 Genre: Mystery, thriller Type of mystery: Kidnapping plot, murder Type of investigator: Police, special agent and amateur Setting & time: England and Ireland, contemporary (to publication) Story: Respectable, elderly private tutor Richard Thewless is hired to accompany the 15 year old son of Britain’s most respected nuclear physicist on a summer visit to relatives in Ireland, when the first choice for a tutor cancels his appointment unexpectedly. Only he didn’t really cancel, he was murdered (unknowingly to the boy and his father), and Detective-Inspector Thomas Cadover wants to know why. The boy, Humphrey Paxton, seems to be both nervous and given to telling st...

Alternative English title: The Lumsden Baby Genre: Mystery Year of publication: 1990 No. in series: 1 Series detective: Dr. Jean Montrose Type of investigator: Amateur (G.P.) Setting & time: Story: General practitioner Dr. Jean Montrose arrives at the Lumsden house just in time to meet a distraught Mrs. Lumsden, whose baby son lies dead in his crib with his head bashed in. As trouble brews in the Montrose family and evidence and suspects pile up in the Lumsden case, it is up to Dr. Montrose to put the police straight as to the motive and the killer when they are led astray by evidence that seems to be trial proof but isn’t, and to try to keep her family together. Review: Few things in straight mysteries sicken me more than the murders of babies and young children. I think it’s because it feels like the writer is going against the rules by killing off someone who is basically an unwritten page, defenseless, totally innocent of any wrongdoing, and whose only offense is being ...

Reread a book you enjoyed as a child or teenager but haven’t read since. Which book would you choose and what are your expectations? or Which book did you choose and is it still as enjoyable as it was back then??

Year of publication: 1956 Crime sub-genre: Police procedural, mystery Type of mystery: Murder Type of investigator: Police detectives Setting & time: New York city, USA, 1950s Story: When a police detective is murdered, execution style, on his way to work, both the murder department and the detectives of the 87th Precinct are galvanized into action. When a second and then a third detective is killed, it becomes clear that someone who really, really hates police detectives is out there, murdering them at random. Or is he? Detective Steve Carella is not so sure. Meanwhile, trouble is brewing as a reporter starts annoying both police and members of a street gang he suspects of being behind the killings, and the killer decides to pay a call on Carella’s girlfriend. Review: Apart from the characterisations of women based on their breast size, I like this book. The narrative is taut and fast paced, the twists are well done and the male characters, especially the likable and smart S...

Genre: Historical mystery thriller Year of publication: 2006 No. in series: 1 Series detective: Yashim Togalu Type of investigator: Private investigator Setting & time: Istanbul, Turkey, 1830s Story: Yashim Togulu, the 19th century equivalent of a modern private investigator/spy, is approached by the head of the Turkish Sultan’s new modernised army in Istanbul and asked to investigate the kidnapping of four young officers and the murder of one of them, presumably by men belonging to what remains of the old army, the dreaded Janissaries . They had been forcibly disbanded 10 years earlier, but now seem to be planning a coup. At the same time the Validé, the Sultan’s mother, summons Yashim and asks him to find out who stole her jewels and murdered a young concubine in the harem. What follows is a thriller full of mysterious happenings, gruesome deaths, fire, chases and several near-death experiences for Yashim. Review: This is a well-written and -plotted mystery thriller, with i...

Year published: 2004 Genre: True crime, newspaper articles This is a collection of articles Michael Connelly wrote before he became famous for his Harry Bosch mysteries. He began his writing carreer as a crime reporter, first in Florida and then in Los Angeles. The articles cover mostly murders that were considered newsworthy at the time, both locally and nationally. The writing is typical unremarkable and rather dry newspaper reportage and it is obvious that the book is published to squeeze a little extra money out of hardcore Connelly fans. I would only recommend it to people who like their true crime without too much gory detail. The hardcore fans will buy it anyway. Rating: A collection of not-so-good newspaper articles by a now famous author. 1+ star.

Challenge your prejudices: Choose an author, a book or a genre you hate and give them/it a second chance. Try, for example, some of the detested required reading from your literature classes in school, read a romance if you are a romance hater, a mystery if you don’t like those, etc., but make it an informed choice. In other words, do not grab the first one you see, but do your research and find a book you really think you could like. In the last reading experience I posted I mentioned Heart of Darkness , which might be a good choice because so many people seem to dislike it, as would The Da Vinci Code , which I know many people dislike without having read it. My own choice is a book: Bleak House by Charles Dickens, for which I developed a dislike when I had to read and analyse it before I was ready for it. What would your choice be; or if you answered the call: what did you choose to read and what was the outcome?