Mysterical-E

Book Reviews

Nine Man’s Murder by Eric Keith

Class reunions can be a bitch. When the class consists of a group of detectives, there’s sure to be not only the usual reunion drawbacks but mystery and even murder as well. When nine graduates of Anderson's Detective Training Agency come together for their reunion at an isolated vacation home, their host remains elusive. But he doesn’t elude a murderer and is found dead in a closet. Soon more murders take place and the graduates are eliminated by a mysterious killer. Complicating things, a snowstorm traps the group

by a mysterious person who has decided to pit his or her wits against the guests'. As a snowstorm traps the party, the survivors realize that the murderer must be one of them. Yet the killings continue, despite locked doors and windows. What is the killer's motivation? Is an old grudge at work? Could the explanation be related to a series of mysterious accidents on the set of a film titled Nine Man Morris, which the classmates had investigated fifteen years earlier?

Pretty Boy Dead by Jon Michaelsen

Closeted police detective Kendall Parker finds himself in the middle of a very gay case when the body of a local gay stripper is found is a midtown Atlanta park. The police have their suspect: a drug-addled gay kid. But Parker isn’t sure they have the real killer. Everything points to the kid and a politician up for reelection wants the case pinned on the kid, as well. Parker has his work cut out for him. He finds himself in the middle of a complicated case that has much more to it than at first appears. The police, the politician, and Detective Parker all have things to hide and to lose. A solid police procedural with all the details down pat. And a good read, too.

Nick of Time by Cathi Stoler

Fast paced and lively, this thriller features Nick Donahue, a gambler living in London. But when the book opens he’s in Venice and already the international appeal calls out to the reader. The story moves around Europe giving readers a sense of sophistication and a great tour f some of the high and low spots on the continent. Donahue is kidnapped then dumped outside Prague and must call on his Zurich-based brother for help. Only, Alex, the brother, has problems of his own which ensnare Nick in even deeper thrills and mysteries. Casinos and gambling, jewel thieves, murder, and classy international locations, this book has it all.

I Hear the Sirens in the Street (Book Two: The Troubles Trilogy) by Adrian McKinty

Sean Duffy, working with detectives McCrabban and McBride to solve the case of a torso found in a suitcase, finds himself in the midst of not only mystery but everything that is shaking Northern Ireland in the time of the Troubles in 1982 in this second book of McKinty’s The Troubles trilogy. In this acclaimed series, McKinty seems to get everything right about the time and place in which he situates his novel. Though Duffy’s investigation leads to an identity for the corpse, it also leads to a woman whose husband was killed at the hands of the IRA. Things bog down for a while but Duffy soon finds himself dealing with a conspiracy and his foes, the FBI, British Intelligence, and others are not making things easy. Duffy, however, pursues the case in dogged fashion. An exciting read.

Billy’s Bones by Jamie Fessenden

This is a difficult read, as it deals with tough issues and is not for the squeamish. Kevin Derocher is a person haunted by his past and he cannot get around whatever happened to him years before. No matter how that incident tears him apart, and ruins the possibilities for being close to anyone, Kevin cannot seem to escape. But eventually that past rises to the surface and with it the dregs of a long unsolved mystery.