J.R. Ellis, THE BREWERY MURDERS (Yorkshire Mystery #9)

Set in a small town in Yorkshire, with two artisanal breweries (run by a brother and sister respectively), a long-lost recipe, a full cast of suspects, two detectives, three murders, and human beings with realistic baggage – addictions, tempers, secrets, old resentments. It’s an enjoyable, quick read (one day for me) with a solid moral compass in DCI Oldroyd. (Between the setting and the gentle humanity, I found myself thinking of the James Herriot books.) Oldroyd's underling Andy Carter explains to him, “I used to believe that criminals were evil people. ‘Catch and lock ‘em up’ was my attitude. But you’ve taught us to think differently: that people who do bad things are mostly damaged themselves and maybe they were trapped in circumstances where another person might have behaved in the same way. Something pushed them over the edge. … You’ve taught us to put ourselves in the shoes of the criminal: they’re human, like the rest of us and mostly think the same way.” I also enjoyed the interesting facts about brewing and its history. This is my first mystery by Ellis, and I'll look for others.

Judith Flanders, THE INVENTION OF MURDER

Brilliant. 5 stars.

I just finished this nonfiction book, which I found truly remarkable for its depth and range of research and for its persuasive argument about the ways that (British) Victorian popular literature, stage productions, newspapers, and ephemera such as music hall songs and cartoons discursively produced murder and modern crime. (See all my nerdy tabs? You should see how many passages I underlined.) 

Dense with accounts and anecdotes of policing, crime, murder, hangings, trials, medical procedures, and legal processes, and told in accessible, engaging prose, this book is rich with lore. I would strongly recommend this book, along with Haia Shpayer-Makov's THE ASCENT OF THE DETECTIVE (a nice counterpoint to this book), to anyone writing mysteries set in nineteenth century Britain. (Donna Leon, whose books are always well researched, loved it too.)  

Robert J Lloyd, THE BEDLAM CADAVER: A HUNT & HOOK NOVEL

 

A fast-paced historical thriller with a firm sense of place. 

In 1681 London, King Charles II is on the throne, but a group wants to replace him with his brother, the Catholic James. Crime-solver Harry Hunt lives in fashionable Bloomsbury, whiling away his days aimlessly, as he is no longer employed by the Royal Society. But when a wealthy merchant’s daughter is kidnapped and murdered and nearly dissected as a cadaver at Bethlehem Hospital (aka Bedlam), the king asks Hunt to find the killer. After a second woman goes missing, he finds a link to a third woman’s death and some gross improprieties at Bedlam. Then Hunt is accused of the crimes himself, and he takes refuge incognito on the south side of the Thames as he works to clear his name. There are lots of intriguing historical bits and references to London landmarks tucked in here – Holbein Gate, Hedge Lane beside the Royal Mews, Bethlehem Hospital, Cuckold’s Point, Africa House, St. Paul’s, Southwark, Haymarket, Leicester Fields, Bloomsbury Square. 

I appreciated the moment, toward the end, when Sir John Reresby (Justice of the Peace for Westminster and an officious bumbler) apologizes for suspecting Harry of murder. Harry replies: “I accept your apology and thank you for it. We believe those things which bring us comfort. We believe whatever suits our own preferences. And why should we not? The world’s a confusing enough place. And the people in it are confusing creatures, often deceiving even themselves.” (398) 

(I did smile over some plot elements that I’ve used in my own books – including hiding important documents in a picture frame and the beleaguered hero fleeing from the north to the south side of the Thames. Made me feel like the author was a kindred spirit.)

John Shen Yen Nee & S J Rozan, THE MURDER OF MR. MA

 

Great fun, set in 1920s London! As with Conan Doyle's Holmes and Watson, we have a studious and sensible main narrator Lao She who documents the case and a brilliant opium-addicted detective Dee Ren Jie who borders on comic book superhero, donning a cape and flying along the London rooftops to solve the mystery of a series of murders traceable back to a Chinese tontine. Dee adopts the persona of "Spring-heeled Jack" whom Judith Flanders calls "the first urban legend" from the 1830s and who by the 1870s had evolved into "a Batman-like righter of wrongs"; other allusions to real life abound, with guest appearances by Bertrand Russell and Ezra Pound. It's a lively ride!