Blunt Force by Lynda La Plante

On September 9, 2020August 19, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Historical Fiction, Murder Mystery10 Comments

Blunt Force Cover

Publisher: Zaffre (Trade Paperback -25 August 2020)

Series: Tennison – Book Six

Length: 415 pages

My Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

The leading lady of crime fiction, Lynda La Plante, returns with another compelling entry in her excellent Tennison series, Blunt Force.

Lynda La Plante is a talented screenwriter and author who has been a leading figure in crime fiction since the 1980s with her combination of enjoyable novels and popular television shows and movies. Some of her notable works include Widows, which has been alternatively a novel, a television series and a film, the Trial and Retribution television series, and several other novels that have been inspired by La Plante’s various television shows, specials or films. Perhaps her most impressive piece of fiction is the iconic British television series, Prime Suspect, which ran in the early 1990s (with follow-up seasons running in 2003 and 2006), starring Helen Mirren as the lead character, Jane Tennison. This show was immensely popular, and in recent years La Plante has started revisiting the character by doing a series of prequel novels that follow a young Jane Tennison in the 1970s and 80s, starting with 2015’s Tennison. Not only did Tennison inspire the Prime Suspect 1973 television series but it was also resulted in several sequel novels. I have been rather enjoying this series over the last couple of years (check out my reviews for Good Friday, Murder Mile and The Dirty Dozen), and I was excited when I recently received my copy of the sixth book in the series, Blunt Force. Blunt Force is set in the early 1980s and continues to follow Tennison on her journey to become the respected investigator we see in the original television show.

After being unfairly kicked out of the high-profile Flying Squad, Detective Sergeant Jane Tennison’s career is on a downward trajectory. Assigned to the sleepy police station of Gerald Road in London’s affluent Knightsbridge area, Jane must content with working petty crimes and minor offenses. However, a good murder is always just around the corner for Jane, as a gruesome and bloody crime scene is discovered on her beat containing a brutally disembowelled body.

The victim, Charlie Foxley, was a well-known celebrity agent, representing a multitude of the richest and most influential actors, models and writers on the planet. However, he was also a cruel and vindictive man whose ruthless business practices, sordid personal life and complicated familiar bonds leaves behind a raft of potential suspects who each had a very real reason to kill him. In order to catch this murderer, Jane and her colleagues will need to dive into the dazzling world of show business to find out more about their victim. But not everything is as innocent or glamorous as it first appears, and Jane must get to the bottom of Foxley’s dodgy dealings if she is to solve the case.

La Plante has once again produced an exciting and compelling crime fiction novel that explores the earlier life of her long-running protagonist. This a particularly great read that combines a fantastic and clever murder mystery with an intriguing historical period and La Plante’s trademark examination of sexism in the London police force. Just like the prior books in the series, Blunt Force is an extremely accessible novel and readers who are unfamiliar with the previous Tennison novels or the Prime Suspect television series can easily dive into this story without any issues. That being said, established La Plante/Prime Suspect fans will no doubt really enjoy seeing how Jane’s character continues to evolve throughout the course of the series as well as witnessing her investigate another significant case from earlier in her career.

Blunt Force mainly revolves around the brutal murder of a celebrity agent who is found butchered in his apartment. This leads to quite an intense and elaborate murder investigation as Tennison and her colleagues dive into the life of the deceased agent and attempt to find out who killed him. The case goes into some very interesting directions as La Plante loads up the book with a ton of plausible misleads, multiple potential suspects with compelling motives, conflicting police politics and a whole load of misdirects. This includes a collection of duplicitous celebrities and rival agents, shady characters who the victim had dealings with and a particularly unhinged ex-wife who is definitely hiding something. The story follows Tennison and several of her fellow detectives as they methodically examine each new lead that comes up. I liked the realistic and evenly paced investigation storyline, with police slowly working their way through suspects by questioning them multiple times, collecting and analysing new evidence and looking for inconsistencies in stories and claims. The eventual solution for the murder turned out to be quite clever, and I liked how it required Tennison to dive deep into the victim’s life and profession to come up with a hidden motivation. The author ensures there is some decent foreshadowing about who the killer is, although I did not see the eventual reveal coming, and I was quite satisfied with the result. Overall, this was a fantastic murder mystery storyline and I had an amazing time seeing it all come together.

As with the rest of the novels in the Tennison series, La Plante uses Blunt Force to explore and critique the historical institutional sexism that existed within the Metropolitan police. This is always a fascinating and relevant element to the story, and La Plante does a fantastic job showing both overt and more subtle examples of what Tennison has to go through as one of the few female detectives in the force at this time. There are several notable inclusions in this novel, from Jane being unfairly dismissed from the Flying Squad, the condescension of her peers, rumours of the reasons why she left the Flying Squad being spread around the office and some new superiors doubting her ability and observations as a result. However, one of the most noticeable elements of this is the disconnect between Jane and her colleagues over investigating elements of the motive for the murder. Through the course of her work, Jane is able to identify the real reason Foxley is killed and wants to further investigate that, as well as attempting to help/find another potential victim. However, her male colleagues, more concerned with the big, glamorous murder, ignore this part of the case, leaving Jane frustrated and a little disenchanted with her colleagues. I really appreciated these scenes within Blunt Force, especially as La Plante writes them extremely well and it was a distinctive and compelling part of the story.

In addition to this there is also a rather intriguing subplot that deals with Tennison getting involved with the infamous Operation Countryman. Operation Countryman was an anti-police-corruption investigation that ran in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and featured members of rural police forces investigating the London police. This investigation has been mentioned and discussed several times in the previous Tennison novels, especially in the prior book The Dirty Dozen, and it finally comes to a head in Blunt Force. Throughout the course of this book Jane is approached and recruited by members of Operation Countryman due to her work with the Flying Squad and some of the corruption that was implied in the prior books. This proves to be a really fascinating part of the story, especially as La Plante cleverly brings in events from previous Tennison adventures, revealing some fantastic forward planning on her part, as well as tying this storyline into some of the real-life targets of the operation. I also liked how this tied into the rest of the narrative contained within Blunt Force, as much of the protagonist’s motivation to help remove a certain corrupt cop could be attributed to her frustrations with the main investigation. This was a very interesting part of the story, and I look forward to seeing if La Plante features more of Operation Countryman in her future novels, perhaps showing what sort of backlash Tennison faces from her colleagues for assisting the operation take down a fellow cop.

The always impressive Lynda La Plante has once again delivered an exciting and captivating novel with Blunt Force. This was a fantastic book that not only contains a gripping and clever murder mystery but which continues the dramatic and intriguing tale of one of La Plante’s most iconic protagonists, Jane Tennison. This was an amazing entry in the Tennison series, and I look forward to seeing what crime the protagonist finds herself involved with next year.

Amazon Book Depository

Waiting on Wednesday – Serpentine by Jonathan Kellerman

On September 2, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn Murder Mystery6 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday I take a look at the intriguing upcoming crime fiction novel, Serpentine by Jonathan Kellerman, the latest entry in the long running Alex Delaware series.

Serpentine Cover

The Alex Delaware books are a substantial collection of murder mystery novels that started all the way back in 1985 with When the Bough Breaks. This series, which currently consists of 35 novels, follows the titular protagonist, psychologist Alex Delaware, as he investigates complex and atypical murders throughout Los Angeles with his friend, LAPD detective Milo Sturgis. I only recently got into this series myself but I have so far read and reviewed the last two entries in the series, The Wedding Guest and The Museum of Desire. Both of these books have proven to be pretty interesting and gripping murder mysteries, and I personally loved the series’ trademark combination of unique murders, the camaraderie between the two main characters, the methodical and realistic take on the investigation and the intriguing culprits with unusual motivations. All of these help to produce some really enjoyable novels and I am fast becoming an established fan of the series.

As a result, I have been keeping an eye out for the next entry in the series and I was excited when I saw that the 36^th book, Serpentine, was coming out next year. Serpentine, which is currently set for release in early February 2021, will continue to follow the team of Delaware and Sturgis as they turn their attention to a seemingly impossible to solve old cold case.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Psychologist Alex Delaware and detective Milo Sturgis search for answers to a brutal, decades-old crime in this electrifying psychological thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling master of suspense.

LAPD homicide lieutenant Milo Sturgis is a master detective. He has a near-perfect solve rate and he’s written his own rule book. Some of those successes–the toughest ones–have involved his best friend, the brilliant psychologist Alex Delaware. But Milo doesn’t call Alex in unless cases are “different.”

This murder warrants an immediate call. Milo’s independence has been compromised as never before, as the department pressures him to cater to the demands of a mogul: a hard-to-fathom, megarich young woman who is obsessed with reopening the coldest of cases–the decades-old death of the mother she never knew.

The facts describe a likely loser: a mysterious woman found with a bullet in her head in a torched Cadillac that has overturned on infamously treacherous Mulholland Drive. No physical evidence, no witnesses, no apparent motive. And a slew of detectives have already worked the case and failed. But as Delaware and Sturgis begin digging, the mist begins to lift. Too many coincidences. Facts turn out to be anything but. And as they soon discover, very real threats lurking in the present.

This is Delaware/Sturgis at their best: traversing the beautiful but forbidding place known as Los Angeles and exhuming the past in order to bring a vicious killer to justice.

Ooh, now this sounds like it could be a fun and captivating new entry the series. An unsolvable case, political pressures, mysterious familiar ties and a dangerous dive into the past all sound like a fantastic recipe for an exciting and addictive murder mystery novel. I am already rather intrigued by the curious mystery that is described in the above synopsis and I looking forward to seeing how the Kellerman unwraps the case and who the ultimate culprit is. I am also looking forward to seeing more of Delaware and Sturgis’s partnership in this book, especially when the two are faced with pressure and unreasonable control from the higher-ups in the LAPD, which could add some great drama and compromises to the narrative.

Based on how much I have enjoyed my previous experiences with the Alex Delaware series and Kellerman’s excellent writing, I am already extremely confident that I will enjoy Serpentine when it comes out next year. However, I am now also quite excited for this new, impressive-sounding mystery, which I think has a lot of potential. Overall, I think that Serpentine will be a fantastic and amazing read for the start of 2021 and I cannot wait to check it out.

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

On August 27, 2020March 1, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery14 Comments

Publisher: Michael Joseph (Trade Paperback – 4 August 2020)

Series: Standalone/Book One

Length: 344 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Amazon Book Depository

Australian crime fiction sensation, Megan Goldin, returns with an impressive third novel, The Night Swim, an intense and heavy-hitting read that quickly drags the reader in with its captivating narrative that refuses to let go.

Following the success of the first season of her true crime podcast show, Guilty or Not Guilty, which set an innocent man free, Rachel Krall has become an overnight sensation and a beacon for people seeking justice or their freedom. Determined to keep her momentum going, Rachel decides to set the latest season of her podcast around the most contentious trial in the country, a high-profile rape case in the small town of Neapolis. The town’s golden boy, a famous swimmer with Olympic potential, has been accused of raping the popular granddaughter of the town’s legendary police chief. The resultant case has divided both the town and the country, and many are eager to see how the hearing unfolds.

Arriving in Neapolis, Rachel begins her own investigation, interviewing people of interest and trying to provide an unbiased version of the case to her listeners. But as she attempts to unwind the legal and moral complexities surrounding the case, Rachel finds herself distracted when she begins to receive a series of letters from a mysterious woman. This woman, Hannah, is a former local who has returned to Neapolis because of the trial and is requesting Rachel’s help in getting long-overdue justice for her sister, Jenny Stills, who died 25 years earlier.

Officially, Jenny’s death was ruled as an accidental drowning and barely anyone remembers who she was or how she died. However, Hannah’s letters reveal a far different story about a poor girl who was brutally murdered and whose memory and legacy was tarnished from beyond the grave. As Rachel beings to investigate the death of Jenny, she soon finds parallels between this old case and the modern-day rape. Something truly rotten occurred 25 years ago in Neapolis and now the past has come back to haunt those involved. Can Rachel bring justice after all these years and how will her findings impact the current trial?

Now that was a powerful and compelling read from Goldin, who has once again produced an excellent and impressive read. Megan Goldin is a talented Australian author who debuted back in 2017 with The Girl in Kellers Way. I first became familiar with Goldin when I received a copy of her second book, The Escape Room, in 2018. I really liked the curious synopsis of The Escape Room, and once I started it I found that I was unable to stop, resulting in me reading it entirely in one night. As a result, I was quite eager to get my hands on Goldin’s third book, The Night Swim, and I was really glad that I got a chance to read it. This new standalone crime fiction novel proved to be an extremely intriguing read with an outstanding story that expertly deals with some heavy and controversial issues and which takes the reader on an intense and memorable journey.

At the centre of this book is a complex and multi-layered narrative that is loaded with emotion, mystery and social commentary. The main story follows Rachel as she arrives in Neapolis and attempts to uncover some background behind the events of the rape case she is covering. This part of the story sees Rachel interview several key witnesses or associated individuals to get their side of the story, explores how the case is impacting the town, witnesses the details of the dramatic court case and then reports her finding and feelings in separate extended chapters made to represent a podcast episode. Rachel also investigates the events that occurred 25 years ago to Jenny Stills. Rachel is guided in this part of the story by Hannah’s mysterious letters, which paint a detailed picture of Hannah’s childhood and her memories of the events that occurred. Rachel follows the clues left in the letters as well as her own investigations to attempt to uncover what really happened all those years ago and who the culprits are.

I really liked how Goldin split out the story, especially as it combined cold case elements with a modern legal thriller and investigation. Both the present case and the historical crime had compelling, if dark, narrative threads, and I really appreciated where both storylines ended up. Naturally both cases were connected in some way, especially as a number of key people associated with the modern-day rape, such as the police investigators, lawyers, the parents of both parties and several other characters, were in Neapolis 25 years earlier and are potential suspects in this previous crime. While I was able to guess who the main perpetrator of the Jenny Stills case was about halfway through the story, I still found it extremely intriguing to see the rest of the story unfold and the joint conclusion of both narratives was rather satisfying. Some of the key highlights of this story for me included the exciting and dramatic court scenes and I also enjoyed the use of the true crime podcast in the story. Having the protagonist run a successful true crime podcast or television show is a story element that has been a little overused in recent years, but I still find it to be an intriguing inclusion, especially as Goldin utilised it well in this novel as both a plot device and a forum for the character/author’s social musings. Overall, this was an excellent piece of crime fiction with an impressive narrative that will draw the reader in and ensure that they will stick around to see how it all unfolds.

One of the most distinctive aspects of The Night Swim is Goldin’s frank and comprehensive look at sexual assault crimes. The book’s narrative focuses on two separate but similar sexual assault cases that occurred within 25 years of each other. Goldin not only provides details of these crimes but also dives into other elements of rape and assault, such as how victims are impacted in the aftermath, how sexual assault crimes are viewed in society and very little has changed around this in recent years. This novel paints a particularly grim picture on the entire legal process surrounding the process for investigating and prosecuting rape cases and there are some fascinating, if horrifying, examinations of how society still has trouble coming to a consensus when it comes to these crimes, and how cases like these can divide communities and nations. There are a number of examples contained within the plot about the public perception of the crimes, with doubt and blame being placed on rape victims who are forced to relive their assaults in different ways and who face unfair and often malicious attacks on their reputations and psyches. It was also interesting to see the author examine some of the fear that women experience all the time at the possibility of an attack, and the protagonist’s emotional podcast posts are particularly good for exploring her experiences and thoughts on the matter. There is also a clever and apt bit of symbolism around this in the form of a caged mockingbird at the protagonist’s hotel who is bothered by several random men for not singing, which I thought was rather striking and memorable. Goldin does a fantastic job diving into this subject and she really pulls no punches in showing what a terrible and mentally damaging crime this is, as well as the impacts that it has on the victims. Because of this The Night Swim is a bit of tough book to read at times and some readers may find a lot of the content quite distressing. However, I really appreciated that Goldin spent the time exploring this subject and it proved to be a captivating and memorable addition to the story.

The small fictional town of Neapolis also proved to be a great setting for this novel, and I liked the way that Goldin utilised this location in The Night Swim. I think that the author was able to produce an excellent approximation of classic small town America, complete with social power players, economic troubles, well-to-do former residents who have returned to face their past and old secrets and lies that are only now bubbling to the surface. It was really intriguing to see the protagonist uncover all the secrets of the town, especially the ones told in Hannah’s cryptic letters and childhood musings. It was also fascinating to see the impacts of family reputation and parental legacy on how crimes are investigated and covered up and this becomes a major factor in both of the cases being investigated. I also liked how Goldin examined how a controversial sexual assault case could divide a small town like Neapolis, with all the resultant friction and disagreement obvious for an outsider like Rachel to observe. Overall, this was a compelling setting, and I think that it really helped to enhance the intriguing narrative that Goldin produced.

With this third impressive novel, Megan Goldin has once again shown why she is such a rising star in the crime fiction genre. The Night Swim is a powerful and captivating read that expertly examines a heavy, relevant and surprisingly divisive real-world topic and utilises it to create a clever crime fiction story set across 25 years. This was a truly outstanding piece of fiction, and the combination of a great mystery, dramatic writing and an in-depth examination of crime and society proved to be rather compelling and memorable. While The Night Swim is a standalone read, I think that the protagonist introduced in this novel has some potential as a repeat character, and it might be interesting to see her travel around the country, investigating crimes for her podcast. In the meantime, The Night Swim comes highly recommended and I look forward to seeing what Goldin comes up with next.

Amazon Book Depository

The Bear Pit by S. G. MacLean

On August 18, 2020April 11, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Historical Fiction, Murder Mystery6 Comments

The Bear Pit Cover

Publisher: Quercus (Trade Paperback – 11 July 2019)

Series: Damien Seeker – Book Four

Length: 410 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Amazon

Back in 2018 I was lucky enough to receive a copy of Destroying Angel, the third book in S. G. MacLean’s Damien Seeker series of historical murder mysteries. I had an amazing time reading this fantastic book, which I ended up giving a full five-star rating, and I was excited when I heard that a sequel was coming out in 2019. This sequel, The Bear Pit, had an intriguing premise and sounded like it was going to be quite an awesome read. Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to read it last year when it first came out, which I have been regretting for some time now. Luckily, I recently found myself with a little bit of spare reading time, so I finally managed to check this book out. I am really glad that I did, as The Bear Pit contained a captivating and clever story that sets MacLean’s intense protagonist on the trial of some dedicated killers.

London, 1656. Oliver Cromwell rules England as the Lord Protector, but not everyone is happy with his reign. Many believe that his death will end the Puritan state and lead to a return of the monarchy in exile. In order to bring this about, three men loyal to the crown are currently plotting to kill him. However, Cromwell is not without his protectors, and his most ardent investigator, the legendary Captain Damien Seeker, is on the case.

Seeker has only recently returned to London after a harrowing investigation in Yorkshire and he is determined to catch the potential assassins before it is too late. However, Seeker soon finds himself on another case when he discovers the mutilated body of man while conducting a raid on a gaming house. The victim appears to have been brutally savaged by a bear, yet all the bears in London were shot after bear baiting was declared illegal by Cromwell. Where did the bear come from and why was it used to commit a murder?

While he continues his hunt for the assassins, Seeker employs his reluctant agent, Thomas Faithly, a former Royalist turned informer, to infiltrate the underground fighting pits in an attempt to find out if any bears remain in the city. However, as both investigations progress it soon becomes clear that they are connected and that the murder is tied into the assassins hunting Cromwell. As Seeker attempts to stop them before it is too late, he finds himself facing off against a talented and intelligent foe with great reason to hate Cromwell and everything Seeker stands for. Can Seeker stop the assassins before it is too late, or has he finally come up against someone even he cannot outthink?

MacLean has come up with another fantastic and compelling historical murder mystery with The Bear Pit. This book contains an amazing multi-character narrative that combines an intriguing murder mystery storyline with real-life political intrigue and plots, enjoyable characters and a fascinating historical backdrop, all of which comes together into an impressive overall narrative. Despite being the fourth Damien Seeker book, The Bear Pit is very accessible to readers unfamiliar with the series, and people who are interested in a good historical murder mystery can easy dive into this book without any issues.

At the heart of this novel is an enthralling mystery and intrigue laden storyline that sees Seeker and his companions not only investigating a murder apparently done by a bear, but also trying to unravel a plot to assassinate Cromwell. This turned into quite an enjoyable and exciting tale that was filled with all manner of twists, surprises, reveals, action-packed fights, disguised antagonists and confused loyalties. Naturally, the murder and the assassination plot are connected, and the investigations of the protagonist and his compatriots combine together as they attempt to find out who is behind the various crimes and why they were committed. This proved to be a very captivating storyline, and I really loved the way in which MacLean blended an inventive murder mystery with realistic political intrigue and plots. There are several clever clues and plenty of foreshadowing throughout the book, and the end result of the mystery was rather clever and somewhat hard to predict. I really liked how these intriguing storylines turned out, and they helped to make this story particularly addictive and hard to put down.

Another distinctive and enjoyable part of this book is the great characters contained within it. The main character of The Bear Pit is the series’ titular protagonist Damien Seeker, the moody and serious investigator and loyal solider of Oliver Cromwell. Seeker is a particularly hardnosed protagonist who inspires all manner of fear and worry in the various people he meets, and it proves to be rather enjoyable to watch him go about his business. While Seeker is the main character, this novel also follows a substantial cast of characters who end up narrating substantial parts of this book. Most of these additional point-of-view characters have appeared in previous entries in the series, and it was great to see MacLean reuse them so effectively while also successfully reintroducing them in the context of this book. Two of the main characters who assist Seeker with his investigation are Thomas Faithly and Lawrence Ingolby, both of whom were introduced in the previous novel, Destroying Angel. Both characters are rather interesting additions to the novel’s investigative plot, and they serve as a great counterpoint to Seeker due to their youth, their inexperience, and their own way of investigating the crimes. While Ingolby was a great younger character who looks set to be a major protagonist in the next book in the series, a large amount of the plot revolves around Faithly and his conflicted loyalties. Faithly is a former exile with strong ties to the royal family, but his desire to return to England sees him make a deal with Seeker to serve Cromwell as a spy. Despite his desire to remain in England, Faithly finds himself torn between his existing friendships and his new loyalty to Seeker, and this ends up becoming a rather dramatic and compelling part of the book. Extra drama is introduced thanks to the reappearance of Maria Ellingworth, Seeker’s former love interest. Both Seeker and Ellingworth have a lot of unresolved feelings with each other, which only become even more confused throughout the course of The Bear Pit when they find themselves in a love triangle with another major character. This romantic angle, as well as the continued use of his secret daughter, really helps to humanise Seeker, and I enjoyed getting a closer look under Seeker’s usual tough mask.

In addition to the fantastic mystery and intriguing characters, one of the best aspects of The Bear Pit, and indeed the entire Damien Seeker series, is the author’s fascinating look at life in Cromwell’s England. This is particularly interesting part of England’s history, which saw the implementation of Puritan law across the country, while secret Royalists lay hidden across the country. This book in particular took a look at what was going on within London, and it was fascinating to see the various aspects of life during the period, from the politics, the hidden loyalties, the impact of day-to-day activities and the removal of previously iconic parts of London life, such as the bear baiting and other blood sports. MacLean does a really good job of examining these various aspects of life during the Cromwell era and working them into her novels, making them a vital part of the plot as well as a fascinating setting.

One of the most fascinating and impressive historical aspects that MacLean includes in The Bear Pit was the focus on the 1656 plot to kill Oliver Cromwell. This was a real historical conspiracy that took place throughout London, as three conspirators attempted to kill Cromwell through various means. The author really dives into the details of the plot throughout this book, and the reader gets a glimpse into the various attempts that were made on Cromwell during this period, as well as the identity and motivations of the three killers. MacLean even shows several chapters from these killers’ viewpoints, showing all the various preparations they put into each attempt, and then presenting how and why they failed. I really liked how the author worked these assassination attempts into the main plot of the book, utilising Seeker as a major reason why several of the attempts failed and ensuring that the antagonists were aware of him and considered him the mostly likely person to stop them. This was a very clever story aspect as a result, and I liked the blend of creative storytelling with historical fact to create an epic and impressive storyline that really stood out. I also liked MacLean’s compelling inclusion of a major historical Royalist figure as the mastermind of the plot and the main antagonist of the book. This character has such a distinctive and infamous reputation, and I liked how the author hinted at their arrival and then sprung the surprise towards the end of the book. This was such a great part of the plot and I look forward to seeing what major historical events MacLean features in the next book in the series.

Overall, The Bear Pit was an outstanding and captivating historical murder mystery that really highlighted S. G. MacLean’s writing ability and creativity. I really enjoyed the excellent blend of murder and intrigue, set during a fascinating period of England’s history, and the author’s use of great characters and the inclusion of a particularly notable historical occurrence proved to be extremely impressive and resulted in an outstanding read. As a result, The Bear Pit comes highly recommended by me and I really do regret taking this long to read it. Luckily, this should ensure that the overall plot of the series is fresh in my mind when I get my hands on the next and final book in the Damien Seeker series, The House of Lamentations, which is out in a couple of weeks. I have already put in my order for a copy of this upcoming book and I am looking forward to seeing how MacLean finishes off this series, especially after I had such an awesome time reading The Bear Pit.

Amazon

Waiting on Wednesday – The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly

On August 12, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn Murder Mystery, Waiting on Wednesday4 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. In this latest Waiting on Wednesday entry I look at the next upcoming novel from the master of crime fiction Michael Connelly, The Law of Innocence.

The Law of Innocence Cover

Say what you will about 2020, at least we are getting not one but two fantastic crime fiction releases from Michael Connelly. I myself am only a recent reader of Connelly’s work, but I have been having an incredible time reading his latest novels, including the 2018 release Dark Sacred Night, last year’s The Night Fire (which was one of my favourite books of 2019) and his first novel of 2020, Fair Warning, which proved to be quite an impressive read. After enjoying these other books, I was very excited to find out that The Law of Innocence was coming out in the second half of 2020. This book is currently set for release on 10 November 2020 and will follow one of Connelly’s most famous recurring characters, Mickey Haller, the Lincoln Lawyer.

Mickey Haller is a relatively new character from Connelly, having been first introduced in 2005’s The Lincoln Lawyer (which was later adapted into a movie starring Matthew McConaughey). Connelly has gone on to write another four Mickey Haller novels, and the character has appeared in supporting roles in several of his Harry Bosch novels, due to the revelation that the two protagonists are half-brothers. The Law of Innocence will be the sixth book to feature Haller as the main character, and it will be the 35^th overall novel in Connelly’s connected universe. The Mickey Haller books differ from Connelly’s other crime fiction novels as they are legal thrillers/mysteries, with Haller working in the courtroom and often solving the murders or crimes that his clients are charged with. This upcoming novel sounds like it has another great case involved with it, as Haller will have to defend his most important client ever: himself.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Defense attorney Mickey Haller is pulled over by police, who find the body of a client in the trunk of his Lincoln. Haller is charged with murder and can’t make the exorbitant $5 million bail slapped on him by a vindictive judge.

Mickey elects to defend himself and must strategize and build his defense from his jail cell in the Twin Towers Correctional Center in downtown Los Angeles, all the while looking over his shoulder–as an officer of the court he is an instant target.

Mickey knows he’s been framed. Now, with the help of his trusted team, he has to figure out who has plotted to destroy his life and why. Then he has to go before a judge and jury and prove his innocence.

In his highest stakes case yet, Mickey Haller fights for his life and shows why he is “a worthy colleague of Atticus Finch…in the front of the pack in the legal thriller game” (Los Angeles Times).

This is a pretty awesome plot synopsis, and I love the idea of Haller having to defend himself in court for a murder that he is being framed for. This story has a lot of potential for legal shenanigans, unconventional defence strategies and entertaining court scenes, and I look forward to seeing how the protagonist plans to get out of this one. It will also be interesting to see what sort of compelling mystery Connelly weaves around this case, and I am rather curious to find out who is trying to frame Haller and why. One particularly intriguing part of the books is going to revolve around how Haller survives in prison, and you just know that he is going to run into some old clients and adversaries while in there. Long-term readers of Connelly’s work will also be excited to know that his main protagonist, Harry Bosch, is set to play a major role in the novel, and he will no doubt attempt to help his brother try to find the real killer. I look forward to seeing more of their fun dynamic; the two of them should make for an enjoyable team.

Overall, I am extremely excited for The Law of Innocence, and I cannot wait to dive into it when it comes out. Based on how much I have enjoyed all my previous Connelly experiences, I already know that I am going to absolutely love this book, especially as this upcoming release has an exceptionally captivating-sounding plot. The Law of Innocence is one of my most anticipated releases for the second half of 2020 and I have extremely high hopes for it. I truly believe that this book has the potential to be one of the best pieces of crime fiction in 2020, and it should turn out to be an outstanding read.

Waiting on Wednesday – Either Side of Midnight and Inside Out

On July 15, 2020July 15, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn Murder Mystery, Waiting on Wednesday3 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. For my latest edition of Waiting on Wednesday, I have a hankering for some compelling mysteries, so I am going to have a look at two upcoming novels featuring some very unique murders.

Either Side of Midnight Cover

The first of these books is the intriguing-sounding Either Side of Midnight by Australian author Benjamin Stevenson. This upcoming book, which is currently set for release on 1 September 2020, has the compelling story hook of a disgraced journalist attempting to prove that a very public suicide was actually murder. Either Side of Midnight will serve as a sequel to Stevenson’s debut novel, Greenlight, which was released back in 2018. Greenlight was a fantastic and enjoyable Australian murder mystery novel that made amazing use of the true-crime documentary trope to produce an enjoyable and thought-provoking narrative, featuring a complex protagonist, Jack Quick, who had to deal with the consequences of manipulating evidence for television ratings. This upcoming sequel will focus on Quick after he is released from jail, and it will be interesting to see how much this character has evolved from the first book. I am really looking forward to this upcoming novel, and I am curious to see how Either Side of Midnight will measure up compared to Stevenson’s fantastic debut. There is a lot to be excited for when it comes to this second novel, and I am rather keen to see how its extremely fascinating plot premise turns out.

Goodreads Synopsis:

An electrifying thriller with a mind-bending premise: One million viewers witness a popular TV presenter commit suicide live on air – yet his twin brother is convinced it was murder.

How can it be murder when the victim pulled the trigger?

At 9.01 pm, TV presenter Sam Midford delivers the monologue for his popular current affairs show Mr Midnight. He seems nervous and the crew are convinced he’s about to propose to his girlfriend live on air.

Instead, he pulls out a gun and shoots himself in the head.

Sam’s grief-stricken brother Harry is convinced his brother was murdered. But how can that be, when one million viewers witnessed Sam pull the trigger?

Only Jack Quick, a disgraced television producer in the last days of a prison sentence, is desperate enough to take Harry’s money to investigate.

But as Jack starts digging, he finds a mystery more complex than he first assumed. And if he’s not careful, he’ll find out first-hand that there’s more than one way to kill someone . . .

Inside Out Cover

The other complex murder mystery novel that has caught my attention is Inside Out by Chris McGeorge, which is set for release towards the end of the year. McGeorge came onto the scene a few years ago and has been producing some amazing murder mystery novels that are twists on the classic locked room mystery novels. His new upcoming novel, Inside Out, looks to be another captivating standalone book that contains an excellent sounding new mystery. This novel has another fascinating story premise, and I cannot wait to see what the solution to this fantastic scenario is.

Hachette Australia Synopsis:

Cara Lockhart has just commenced a life sentence in HMP New Fern – the newest maximum security woman’s prison in the country. She was convicted of a murder she is adamant she didn’t commit.

One morning she wakes up to find her cellmate murdered – shot in the head with a gun that is missing. The door was locked all night, which makes Cara the only suspect. There is only one problem – Cara knows she didn’t do it and she has no idea who did.

Being the only one who knows the truth, Cara sets about trying to clear her name, unravelling an impossible case, with an investigation governed by a prison timetable. Cara starts to learn more about her fellow prisoners, finding connections between them and herself that she would never have imagined.

Indeed it seems that her conviction and her current situation might be linked in strange ways…

I think that both of these upcoming novels sound really incredible and loaded with potential. Either Side of Midnight and Inside Out should prove to be fantastic reads, and I cannot wait to see what dastardly and complex mysteries these two talented authors have produced.

Fair Warning by Michael Connelly

On July 7, 2020April 19, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Murder Mystery27 Comments

Publisher: Allen & Unwin (Trade Paperback – 26 May 2020)

Series: Jack McEvoy – Book Three

Length: 404 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Amazon

Prepare for another incredible murder mystery from leading crime fiction author, Michael Connelly, as he brings back one of his more intriguing protagonists, reporter Jack McEvoy, for another fantastic novel, Fair Warning.

Following several of his past misadventures, veteran reporter Jack McEvoy is now working for the independent reporting website, Fair Warning, investigating scams and consumer issues. However, McEvoy’s true passion is the murder beat, which he once again finds himself dragged into when LAPD detectives accost him one night, asking him questions about a woman he had a one-night stand with several months ago. The woman has been murdered in a particularly brutal manner, and McEvoy is seen as a key suspect in the case.

Against the wishes of the police and his editor, McEvoy begins to dissect the case on his own, and discovers that several women across the country have died in a similar manner. Investigating each of these deaths, he manages to find a unique connection between the victims that points to a serial killer that has been operating unnoticed for years and who has a disturbing way of finding his next kill.

Determined to hunt down this murderer and bring him to justice, McEvoy recruits his old flame, former FBI agent Rachel Walling, to help his investigation. However, this is no ordinary killer they are hunting. Calling himself the Shrike, their prey is brilliant, meticulous and utterly devoid of any compassion. Can McEvoy and Walling bring him to justice, or have they just painted a target on their back?

Wow, Connelly really knocks it out of the park again with Fair Warning, another excellent and captivating piece of crime fiction. I have been really getting into Connelly’s books over the last couple of years, ever since I read his 2018 release, Dark Sacred Night, which was followed up by one of my favourite books of 2019, The Night Fire. Fair Warning is the 34^th book in Connelly’s shared universe of crime fiction (which includes his Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller novels), and it is the third book to feature Jack McEvoy as a protagonist. This latest release proved to be an exceptional read, and I was able to power through it in a short period of time. I loved the fantastic mystery that was featured within it, and Connelly has included several unique features that make it stand out from his main police investigation novels, resulting in an amazing and enjoyable read.

At the heart of this amazing novel lies an impressive and clever murder mystery storyline that proved to be a lot of fun to explore. The book focuses on a hunt for a wicked and terrifying serial killer who has been hunting women across the country and getting away with it. The subsequent investigation into the killer is a compelling and multilayered affair, as the protagonist becomes obsessed with solving the case. The entire mystery storyline is an epic and intriguing affair, and Connelly lays it out in a methodical manner that helps to draw the reader right into the middle of the investigation. I really liked where the investigation goes, and it contains some interesting leads, opposition from law enforcement agencies who do not want a report snooping around and several other unique challenges. Just like with the other Jack McEvoy books, Connelly has come up with a distinctive and driven serial killer for the protagonist to pursue. This killer is a ruthless and intelligent hunter with a terrifying method of eliminating his prey, which he parlays into his disturbing but apt moniker the Shrike. He serves as a worthy antagonist for this excellent mystery, and it proved to be really intriguing to fully investigate and unwind all his actions and intent, although there is still some mystery around this antagonist towards the end of the book. I personally liked the occasional glimpse into the killer’s mind that Connelly provided, as there were a few short chapters told from his perspective, which proved to be rather intriguing. An additional chapter from a third character’s point-of-view also introduced the reader to a couple of witnesses, who, while not directly involved with the killings, had their hands in their case in an interesting but messed up way, which added compelling wrinkles to the entire mystery, and also ensured that the reader had additional villains to wish some comeuppance upon. Overall, this was an excellent and enjoyable murder mystery storyline, and I had an amazing time following it from one end to the next.

Connelly has the rare ability to keep coming up with great and distinctive protagonists for his crime novels, and Jack McEvoy is one of his more intriguing characters. McEvoy is a bit of an autobiographical character for Connelly, as both the author and his creation were crime journalists for the Las Angeles Times. He has been utilised as the main character of two previous novels, The Poet and The Scarecrow, and has also had appearances in some other Connelly books, such as A Darkness More Than Night and The Brass verdict. Long-term fans of Connelly’s writing will enjoy learning about how his life has progressed in the intervening years, and about his current journalistic endeavours. It was great to see him once again involved in a murder investigation, especially another one where he has an emotional attachment to the case, having briefly known the first victim. McEvoy is portrayed as a somewhat reckless and impassioned investigator throughout the book, and he ends up riding some moral lines as he attempts to work out what is more important, the story or catching the killer. It was also great to see the return of Rachel Walling, who has served as the main supporting character and love interest of the previous Jack McEvoy books. McEvoy and Walling’s complex relationship is once again a central piece of this story, and the two of them struggle to work together with their romantic entanglements and complicated past. After all this time the reader cannot help but hope that the two of them will end up together, although there are significant barriers to this happening, such as McEvoy’s suspicious and cynical personality, and their often-opposing viewpoints. Both characters are fantastic additions to the story, and their personal issues serve as pleasant emotional backdrop to the murder mystery angles of the book. I really liked their complicated partnership and it looks like Connelly may have some plans for them in the future.

I was also a big fan of the reporting angle that Fair Warning had. The protagonist is not cop, instead he is a reporter who finds himself involved with the story. As a result, while the protagonist does want to bring the killer to justice, he is also interested in writing the story behind it. This leads to several distinctive differences between this investigation and the more traditional police inquiry, including different ways of obtaining information, being less bound by legal procedures and a different way of dealing with potential witnesses or sources. The book also features several faux journalistic articles (which must have brought Connelly back to his reporting days) that cover key events of the book, and there are some great discussions about the techniques behind writing a newspaper article.

One of the most interesting parts of this reporting element, is the fact that the McEvoy is employed at the reporting website, Fair Warning. Fair Warning is an actual real-life website that provides independent watchdog reporting on consumer issues, which features Connelly as a member of the website’s board of directors. The website’s real-life founder and editor, Myron Levin, appears as a character within the book, and I think that it was a fun inclusion from Connelly that did a great job of showing the current state of journalism in the world today. This is the first Jack McEvoy book written in the era of ‘fake news’, and Connelly spends some time exploring how traditional newspapers are suffering and how the role and status of reporters is changing. This proves to be an intriguing background element to the story, and I am glad that Connelly spent the time raising it within the novel, as well as highlighting the importance of an impartial and observant journalists. Other great parts of the reporting aspect of the book include several fun reporting anecdotes (I really, really hope that the story about one of Levin’s articles distressing a grifter so much that he sued the paper claiming the article caused him rectal bleeding, is true), as well as the examination of other parts of other parts of journalism, such as the emergence of podcasts as a source of media.

Another fantastic element to the story was the author’s examination of the massive industry that has formed around DNA testing for criminal, scientific and personal reasons. Through the course of his investigation, McEvoy discovers that the connection between several of the victims is due to DNA testing. This prompts him to investigate the DNA testing from a consumer watchdog perspective, which allows Connelly to examine a number of potential issues behind the current craze of DNA testing, and he shows it to be an extremely unregulated industry where a lot of unethical actions and behaviours can occur. This proves to be an extremely fascinating part of the book’s plot, especially as Connelly puts forth several different ways that such an industry could be abused for personal or criminal purposes, some of which are rather disturbing in their implications. Connelly did an amazing job exploring the downsides of DNA testing in this book, and it was both extremely fascinating and little scary (it made me glad that I’ve never sent my DNA in for testing, that’s all I’m saying), especially in the way that it was tied into Fair Warning’s mystery.

Michael Connelly has once again showed why he is one of the world’s preeminent authors of crime fiction as he has written another outstanding and highly addictive novel. Fair Warning contains an excellent and captivating story that I could not get enough of. I had an incredible time reading this amazing and clever novel and it comes highly recommended. It has also got me extremely excited for Connelly’s next novel, The Law of Innocence, which comes out later this year.

Amazon

Waiting on Wednesday – The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton

On June 11, 2020June 11, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn Historical Fiction, Murder Mystery, Waiting on Wednesday9 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. In my latest Waiting on Wednesday, I check out a fantastic upcoming book which I have exceedingly high hopes for, The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton.

The Devil and the Dark Water Cover

Turton is a rather new author who has so far only written one novel. However, this first novel was The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (also released as The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle), which is more than enough incentive for me to check out his second novel. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle was an extremely impressive debut that featured a wickedly clever and utterly captivating story about a man who had to solve a complex murder in a historical English manor house, while also simultaneously reliving the same day over and over again in the bodies of eight separate people. While this sounds like a complicated premise (and it was), it worked extremely well, and The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle proved to be an exceptional book. I ended up giving it a full five-star review on my blog, and it was easily one of my favourite reads of 2018.

Due to how much in enjoyed his debut novel, I am really excited to read The Devil and the Dark Water, especially as it looks like Turton has come up with another historical murder mystery storyline with a twist.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A murder on the high seas. A detective duo. A demon who may or may not exist.

It’s 1634 and Samuel Pipps, the world’s greatest detective, is being transported to Amsterdam to be executed for a crime he may, or may not, have committed. Travelling with him is his loyal bodyguard, Arent Hayes, who is determined to prove his friend innocent.

But no sooner are they out to sea than devilry begins to blight the voyage. A twice-dead leper stalks the decks. Strange symbols appear on the sails. Livestock is slaughtered.

And then three passengers are marked for death, including Samuel.

Could a demon be responsible for their misfortunes?

With Pipps imprisoned, only Arent can solve a mystery that connects every passenger onboard. A mystery that stretches back into their past and now threatens to sink the ship, killing everybody on board.

I love the sound of this cool plot, and I look forward to finding out what is happening aboard the ship. I am already very curious about whether there is an actual demon onboard or if it’s instead going to be some form of clever hoax. Considering the cool twists that were featured within Turton’s first book, it could honestly be either, or something else entirely.

Whatever happens within this book, I am really looking forward to checking it out. The Devil and the Dark Water is currently set for release on 1 October 2020, and I honestly think that this could end up being one of my top reads of 2020. October can honestly not come soon enough for me, and I cannot wait to see how The Devil and the Dark Water turns out.

The Grove of the Caesars by Lindsey Davis

On June 1, 2020November 22, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Five-Star Books, Historical Fiction, Murder Mystery22 Comments

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (Trade Paperback – 2 April 2020)

Series: Flavia Albia – Book Eight

Length: 399 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Amazon

Get ready for an outstanding historical murder mystery as one of my favourite authors, Lindsey Davis, returns with another book in her amazing Flavia Albia series, The Grove of the Caesars.

“Don’t go to the Grove.”

Rome, 89 AD. Flavia Albia, professional informer and all-around busy body, is still adjusting to domestic life with her new husband. When he is called away for a family emergency, Flavia takes up the reins of his construction business and begins to supervise several of their projects, especially a demolition and construction job within the sprawling gardens outside the city that Caesar long ago gifted to the people of Rome.

Ignoring the subtle warnings of those men familiar with the gardens to stay away from them and their accompanying sacred grove, Flavia visits the worksite, where she finds a series of mysterious scrolls buried in a cave. Why has someone buried a mass of scrolls from obscure Greek philosophers, and what dark secrets do the scrolls hold? Before Flavia can investigate any further, a woman is brutally murdered at a party held at the grove, and two of Flavia’s slaves go missing.

It turns out that there is a killer lurking in the sacred grove; one who targets women and who has successfully avoided detection for years. With the local vigiles failing to properly investigate the crime, Flavia decides to take on the case. However, can Flavia catch a murderer clever enough to escape justice for two decades, especially once the Emperor’s sinister secret agent Karus takes over the investigation? Forced to work with Karus once again, can Flavia find justice for all the murdered women, or will she end up as the next victim of one of Rome’s most dangerous killers?

The Grove of the Caesars is a deeply compelling and highly entertaining novel that once again follows the clever and likeable protagonist, Flavia Albia, as she investigates a gruesome murder in the heart of ancient Rome. This is the eighth book in the excellent Flavia Albia series, which acts as a sequel to the 20-book long Marcus Didius Falco series of historical murder mystery novels. I have been a major fan of the Flavia Albia books for years, having read and reviewed all the previous novels in the series as soon as they came out (make sure to check out my reviews for the previous three books, The Third Nero, Pandora’s Boy and A Capitol Death). All of Davis’s previous novels have been extremely enjoyable, and I have been looking forward to reading The Grove of the Caesars for some time now, and once again Davis did not disappoint. The Grove of the Caesars is another outstanding read that successfully combines together a great murder mystery storyline with a detailed historical setting and engaging central protagonist to produce a captivating narrative that I ended up reading in very short order.

At the centre of this amazing novel is a captivating and dark mystery storyline that sets the protagonist against a cunning and vicious serial killer. The Grove of the Caesars actually has two mysteries contained within it, one involving buried scrolls that the protagonist finds hidden within a cave, and the more pressing case of the murderer within the gardens. Flavia ends up working on both cases simultaneously, and the two mysteries wrap together quite well to produce a great storyline, especially when also combined with some of the other plot elements that Davis throws into it. Both of these mysteries are really clever, and the author makes sure to fill the book with all manner of alternative suspects, intriguing swerves and false leads to keep the reader guessing right up to the end. There were a number of fantastic elements to these mysteries, from the impressive way that they were investigated to the stunning developments and the great conclusions both of them had, including some surprising revelations that came out at the end of the case of the buried scrolls. Davis once again makes sure to portray the investigation in a very modern manner, so that this case felt more like a contemporary mystery novel at times, which I thought worked really well with her enjoyable protagonist and which fit in with the very modern way that the author portrays her historical setting. I was a bit surprised about how dark this book got at times, as Davis, usually has a bit of a lighter tone with her writing, even though they follow murder mysteries. However, the central case of the serial killings was pretty gruesome at times as the antagonist, who displayed a number of characteristics associated with more modern serial killers, did some rather horrible things to his various victims. While it did give this book a bit of a stronger tone at times, I felt that having such an evil antagonist really helped to drag me into the story, as I looked forward to seeing him get caught, and this was overall a really excellent mystery storyline.

Another key aspect of the story is the detailed and compelling historical setting of ancient Rome. Historical Rome always has such potential as a setting, and Davis always does a fantastic job of bringing the city to life in all its chaotic glory, while also making all the inhabitants seem a lot more modern in their actions and attitudes. The Grove of the Caesars was no different, and I really enjoyed seeing the fun way that Davis melds her captivating mystery with this cool setting to create a great story. However, Davis also makes sure to set this story apart by her exploration of one of ancient Rome’s most fascinating features, Caesar’s gardens. The gardens are a sprawling set of sacred groves, forested areas, winding paths, statues and other intriguing features that were originally commissioned for Caesar himself and then gifted to the city after his death. Davis does an amazing job exploring this historically impressive garden, including its location, features and history, and I had a fantastic time learning more about it. It also serves as a really distinctive and compelling setting for The Grove of the Caesars’s story, and I enjoyed seeing the protagonist explore it trying to find hints and clues to the various crimes. I also enjoyed the more sinister air Davis gave the gardens once the reader knows that there is a killer stalking them, especially at night, and which helps to add a bit of tension to the story in the scenes where the protagonists is walking in the gardens alone.

One of the best parts of this book has to be the fun central protagonist, Flavia Albia, who is one of my favourite main characters in fiction at the moment. Flavia serves as The Grove of the Caesars’s sole narrator and point-of-view character, and it is through her eyes that we see most of the story unfold. For the most part, Flavia is a very confident and collected individual with bundles of sass and sarcasm and an unbelievable amount of life experience and cynicism after years spent working as an informant and investigator in Rome. It is thanks to this entertaining world view that most of the book’s humour is derived, as Flavia is full of all manner of funny comments and amusing observations about the world around her. This provides a much lighter tone for most of the novel, as Flavia can be rather sarcastic and witty, even during the darkest of moments. However, in The Grove of the Caesars she does get rather angry in places, especially after witnessing so much violence against women and other helpless characters, and her rage towards the book’s primary antagonist is quite palpable at times, making for some rather dramatic scenes. I also enjoyed the way that Davis works in a large amount of the protagonist’s home and family life into the story, and it is always entertaining to see Flavia interact with her outrageous and eccentric extended family, who offer help and hindrances to her life and investigations in equal measures. I also liked how the author has continued the storyline that sees Flavia and her husband take in and adopt a variety of interesting stray characters they encounter in their cases and add them to their growing household. It was rather fun to see characters who were first introduced in prior books make an impact on this novel’s mystery, and it makes for a fun continuity. I look forward to seeing more of Flavia Albia in the future, and I cannot wait to see what crazy adventures she gets up to next time.

I also have to highlight the wildly entertaining big story moment that occurred about two-thirds of the way into the book. In her last few books, Davis has taken to include a major sequence that features Flavia finding herself in the midst of an over-the-top situation. This includes the very funny sequence in Pandora’s Boy which saw an all-out brawl between a huge group of mixed participants in a collapsing temple, or the rather outlandish chase sequence that occurred in The Third Nero, that featured legionnaires, heavy Persian cavalry, chariots and an elephant in the heart of Rome. In The Grove of the Caesars, Davis makes sure to include another of these outrageous moments, this time featuring a desperate boat chase taking place in the middle of a park, thanks to a disused maritime gladiatorial arena. This chase sequence is filled with all manner of mishap and chaotic moment, as Flavia and several other key characters take to several dilapidated boats to try and resolve the situation, which has a rather extreme ending. Needless to say, this was my favourite part of the entire book, and I found myself laughing several times as events unfolded.

Lindsey Davis has once again shown why she is one of the best authors of historical murder mysteries, as The Grove of the Caesars is a wildly entertaining and addictive read. Davis has pulled together and exceptional story, filled with two compelling mysteries, great characters and an intriguing and distinctive historical setting. I had an amazing time reading this book, and it gets a full five-star review from me. I am eagerly awaiting Davis’s next novel (apparently titled A Comedy of Terrors), and I cannot wait to get my next Flavia Albia fix, this time next year. In the meantime, make sure to check out The Grove of the Caesars if you are in the mood for an exciting and clever read.

Amazon

Throwback Thursday: Usagi Yojimbo: Volume 7: Gen’s Story by Stan Sakai

On May 15, 2020August 23, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, Five-Star Books, Throwback Thursday6 Comments

Publisher: Fantagraphics Books (Paperback – 1996)

Series: Usagi Yojimbo – Book Seven

Length: 187 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Amazon Book Depository

Reviewed as part of my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read.

For this week’s Throwback Thursday, I once again dive into the wonderful world of Usagi Yojimbo and review the seventh volume of this incredible ongoing comic series, Gen’s Story. I have been really enjoying going back and reviewing the older volumes of this fantastic comic by legendary writer and artist Stan Sakai, and this seventh volume is another excellent addition to the series that I always have a terrific time reading.

Gen’s Story is an amazing example of a Usagi Yojimbo volume, which contains several short stories, each of which shows a unique tale set within the series’ clever version of feudal Japan populated with anthropomorphised animals. Each of the individual stories in this volume is rather good, and together they form a fantastic volume that not only introduces a recurring side-character but which also explores the backstory of another key character and serves as a perfect end note for one of the series’ best character arcs. This volume is made up of issues #32-38 of the Fantagraphics Books run on Usagi Yojimbo, as well as a story from Critters #38, which makes Gen’s Story a tad longer than a typical volume. All of these issues make for an awesome read, and Gen’s Story is another excellent addition to the Usagi Yojimbo series.

The first story contained within this volume is the fun and enjoyable tale, Kitsune. In this story Usagi encounters a talented street performer, Kitsune, who entertains the crowd with the tricks she can perform with her koma (spinning tops). However, Kitsune is much more than a simple entertainer; she is also an extremely skilled thief and pickpocket who manages to take Usagi’s purse without him realising it. This forces Usagi to stay late at an inn, washing dishes to pay for his meal, which results in him witnessing and intervening in an altercation between a notorious gambler and some local gangsters. Deciding to help the gambler under the mistaken belief that he is an innocent merchant, Usagi attempts to escort him out of town, where the two encounter Kitsune again just before the gangsters attack, leading to a fight in the streets.

Kitsune is an entertaining story that works well as a suitably light-hearted start to the entire volume (get a fun story in before the feels start). The whole of this story is really amusing from the very start, and it contains some great comedy elements, from Usagi getting taken advantage of by Kitsune and the way he doesn’t initially realise that the person he is helping out is the same gambler who previously led a mob against him in A Kite Story, which was part of the fifth volume, Lone Goat and Kid. This leads to a great scenario where the gambler is forced to rely on Usagi for protection, while silently hoping that he will not remember who he is or what he previously did. Of course, Usagi eventually figures out who he is, thanks to the gambler’s boasting, and this results in a great end to the whole farcical tale. This issue also serves as an excellent introduction to the character of Kitsune, who goes on to become a major recurring figure within the Usagi Yojimbo stories. Sakai does a fantastic job showing off Kitsune’s personality and skills as a thief throughout this story, and I also love all the cool drawings he does of Kitsune’s various tricks with the spinning tops. Kitsune’s entire arc throughout this story is great, and I love how Usagi was able to get even with her at the very end, which is a fun prequel to all their future encounters. The combination of an entertaining plot, a great character introduction and an enjoyable call-back to a previous story helps to make Kitsune an excellent first entry in this volume, and I had an amazing time reading it.

The second story in this volume is the short entry Gaki. Gaki is quick and amusing story that follows a young Usagi back when he was a student under the tutelage of his sword master Katsuichi. After one of Katsuichi’s typical lessons, which sees Usagi receive a smack to the head, Usagi attempts to retaliate, striking a blow that seemingly kills his master and causes his ghost to start haunting Usagi. Of course, it ends up being a whole big misdirection, but it results in a fun sequence in which young Usagi is chased by a vengeful spirit, which all leads to a humorous conclusion. The highlight of this quick tale has to be the amazing drawings of the vengeful spirit and the pure terror that appears on the face of the young Usagi, all of which are way out of proportion to Gaki’s rather innocent story. All of this makes for an entertaining second inclusion in Gen’s Story, and it, together with the first story, provides readers with a fun start to this volume.

The third story is where we start getting to the heavier narratives of this volume, as the reader is treated to the supernatural tale, Broken Ritual. This story sees Usagi walking late at night through a small village filled with an unnatural amount of fear, especially after a loud and terrifying wail breaks the silence. Talking to the townsfolk, Usagi learns that the village, which is located close to the site of the battle of Adachi Plain, is haunted by one of Usagi’s old comrades, General Tadaoka, who died following the battle in the midst of an incomplete seppuku ritual. Now, due to the shame of having a dishonourable death at the hands of an unworthy and unnamed enemy, Tadaoka’s spectre appears in the spot where he died each full moon, letting out a wail of anguish. Upon hearing this tale, Usagi decided to try and help end the suffering of his former comrade and manages to help the spirt pass peacefully by successfully performing the seppuku ritual on the ghost.

Broken Ritual is an impressive and gripping story of honour and duty which is easily one of the best inclusions in this volume. This is one of those stories that really sticks in the reader’s mind, and the whole concept of samurai honour, even from beyond the grave, is a really fascinating central plot aspect. I loved the exploration of the seppuku ritual, and the supernatural elements of this story play into this really well, as it highlights just how important an honourable death is to a samurai like Tadaoka, so much so that he came back from the grave to ensure it was done properly. Sakai’s art is in top form for this volume, and his outstanding depiction of a wartime seppuku ritual is absolutely incredible. The intense facial expressions of Tadaoka during the seppuku scenes are particularly enthralling, and Sakai does a fantastic job of showing the pain and concentration that would have been on such a person’s face. All of this leads to a deeply captivating story, and it is amazing the sort of gripping tale Sakai can spin together in single issue.

The fourth story in this volume is the shorter story, The Tangled Skein, which is the story that was originally featured in Critters #38. This is a creepy, quick story that follows Usagi in the immediate aftermath of the battle of Adachi Plain. Fleeing from the victorious troops of Lord Hikiji, Usagi attempts to hide in a dark forest known as The Tangled Skein, which is rumoured to be filled with all manner of haunts. Naturally, Usagi runs into one of these haunts, a demon disguised as a helpful old lady, and he must try to escape her clutches with help from the most unlikely of sources. This was an awesome supernatural storyline that I quite enjoyed, especially as the story once again highlights some of the philosophies surrounding samurai honour and what duties a samurai has to his lord, and vice versa. Fast-paced, exciting and with a surprisingly poignant moral to its story, The Tangled Skein is great entry to the volume, and I am glad that Sakai included it.

The next story in this volume is simply call Gen, and it is the major storyline contained within Gen’s Story. Made up of three Usagi Yojimbo issues, this is an excellent story of revenge and obsession that also continues the theme of the last few stories by looking at samurai honour and obligation. This story also reveals the full backstory of the always amusing and enjoyable recurring side character Gen and shows how he came to be a bounty hunter. The story is broken into three separate parts by issue, with the first part called Lady Asano’s Story, the second part called Sins of the Father and the third and final part titled Lady Asano’s Revenge.

Naturally, Gen revolves around the character Gen, who Usagi once again meets out in the wilds, and helps him claim his latest bounty. Recovering from this fight in a nearby town, Usagi shares a meal with a destitute noblewoman and her retainer. The noblewomen, Lady Asano, is on the hunt for her husband’s murderer, a former advisor who betrayed him for great reward, and her exhaustive 20-year long quest has left her poor and on her own. The story is interrupted by the arrival of Gen, who is revealed to be the son of the great General Murakami, the most revered retainer of the Asano clan, and whose family owes allegiance to Lady Asano. Gen, bitter at the years his hard and disciplined father spent dragging him and his mother around the countryside hunting the murderer, an event that led to the death of Gen’s mother and Gen becoming a bounty hunter, refuses to help Lady Asano. However, once Lady Asano and Usagi are captured by the murderous advisor, revealed to be the town’s magistrate, Gen attempts to help, leading to an emotional and violent confrontation.

This was another excellent story that had a number of fantastic elements to it. It was great to finally get Gen’s backstory revealed, as Gen promised to tell his story all the way back in the second volume, Samurai. This was actually a rather tragic backstory for Gen, and I really liked seeing it, especially as it fits in really well with Gen’s character, not only explaining why he is so eager to fight for money but also why he is so dismissive and distrustful of honourable samurai, who must remind him of his father. Sakai makes sure to wrap up Gen’s personal history rather well within this story, as Gen gets some closure with his father towards the end of the story in one of the few instances that we see a really serious and emotionally wrought Gen. I also liked how Sakai continued to explore the concept of samurai honour within this story, especially the obsession and hurt that it can cause. We got to see the negative impacts that having an extremely loyal and honourable samurai as a father had on Gen, and Sakai also focused on the obsession for revenge and redemption that existed within Lady Asano, which not only drove her into poverty but also gave her the strength to finally get her revenge. The sequence where the dying Lady Asano slowly advanced towards the target of her wrath was pretty intense, and she almost appeared demonic as she slowly moved to get her revenge. Other cool highlights of the story include the huge pitched battle that occurred between the protagonists and their opponents’ retainers in the magistrate’s compound, and the continued fun banter between Usagi and Gen, which adds some much needed humour into this heavier story. Overall, this is an impressive and addictive expanded story, that achieves a lot of fantastic character development and which serves as an excellent focus of this entire volume.

The next story contained within this volume is another lighter story, The Return of Kitsune. In this story, Usagi, who is accompanied by Gen, once again encounters Kitsune, who is up to her usual tricks of street performances and pickpocketing. This time, however, she accidently steals a valuable letter meant for a corrupt local merchant, and she is subsequently hunted through the streets until she runs into Usagi and Gen. Usagi and Gen was work together to save Kitsune from the merchant, even if they cannot agree on what the best course of action is.

The Return of Kitsune is probably one of the funniest inclusions in this volume. The highlight of this entry has to be the first meeting between the two fun side characters, Kitsune and Gen. These two characters play off each other extremely well, and you cannot help but chuckle at the exasperated expression on Usagi’s face as the Gen and Kitsune begin to flirt with each other. I also enjoyed seeing the opposing philosophies of Usagi and Gen clash throughout this story, as Usagi wants to intervene to save lives, while Gen wants to stay out of the whole thing and claims that Usagi is too nosey. This whole argument proves to be a rather entertaining part of the story, and it results in some excellent scenes towards the end of the story, especially when Usagi takes Gen’s advice about minding his own business and fails to tell his friend that Kitsune stole his purse.

The final entry in this volume is the outstanding narrative, The Last Ino Story, which serves as the last appearance of one of the best recurring characters to appear in the earlier volumes of this series. In The Last Ino Story, Usagi and Gen are taking one of Gen’s infamous shortcuts late at night and find themselves ambushed by bandits while traversing a narrow path along the side of a cliff. Managing to outsmart their attackers, Usagi and Gen seek shelter in a nearby abandoned hut, where they find themselves confronted by a young woman who is attempting to defend her wounded husband. Able to make their way inside, they find that the woman’s husband is none other than the Zato Ino, who has settled down and abandoned his violent ways after his last encounter with Usagi and Gen. Gravely wounded by the same bandits Usagi and Gen encountered, Ino appears close to death and the two samurai must work quickly if they are to save him and ensure he gets to live the life he rightly deserves.

The Last Ino Story is an outstanding and emotionally rich story which is an amazing way to finish this entire volume off. This last entry in this volume contains a great story in its own right, especially as it serves as a fantastic conclusion to one of the best character arcs in the series, that of Zato Ino. Ino was introduced all the way back in the first volume, The Ronin, as a blind outlaw who was trying to find a quiet place to settle down and rid himself of his life of violence, but whose efforts were constantly disrupted by his large bounty and the hunters chasing him. However, as the series progressed and Usagi kept meeting him, he grew as a character, from him gaining his first true friend in the third volume, The Wanderer’s Road, to him finally finding a home and family after the events of the fourth volume, The Dragon Bellow Conspiracy. This final appearance from him (and it is indeed the last time that you see him), serves as a perfect send off to him, as Usagi and Gen, the only two people who knew his past and gave him a chance, find out that he ended up having a the peaceful life he always wanted and has even more happiness on the way. As a result, this is a perfect story for those readers who got attached to the character of Ino through the first volumes of the series, and it was great to see his story come to a satisfying end.

I also liked Gen’s character arc throughout this story, especially once he finds out that Ino was the injured man in the barn. Gen and Ino have a complicated past, as Gen was initially trying to hunt Ino down for his bounty during their first encounter, and Ino ended up saving his life. In order to repay him, Gen dragged the injured Ino out of the castle before it exploded and told everyone, including Usagi, that Ino had died, in order to ensure that the blind pig would no longer be hunted and could settle down. In this story, Gen, upon seeing the man he saved once again dying, loses his cool and begins to take his rage out on an owl that has been stalking him throughout the course of the book, which he sees as an omen of death. Watching Gen constantly run out into the rain to chase away an owl is amusing on the surface, but it also reveals his deeper feelings that he usually keeps hidden: “The one decent thing I did was give him his peace, and you won’t take it away!” His determination to keep Ino alive because of this is a real change from his usual behaviour, and it helps underline that deep down Gen is a good character, even if he reverts to his usual gruff self the moment he knows Ino is fine. I also liked how the whole saga with the owl ended up, and it was a fun little turn around on the bird being an omen of death. Other highlights of this story include the cool battle sequence towards the front when Usagi and Gen manage to climb up the cliff and face the bandits trying to kill them. The five panels which show this fight are really cool, from the way that the grim faced Usagi and Gen are framed in the moonlight, the close-up of the bandits faces as they charge, the shot of Usagi’s bloody sword, and the way the fight is only alluded to by the sound effects that have been written in, makes for a great sequence that I really liked. All in all, The Last Ino Story is a first-rate inclusion, and it leaves the reader with a memorable and emotionally substantial ending to this volume.

The seventh Usagi Yojimbo volume, Gen’s Story, is another incredible addition to this awesome and deeply enjoyable series. Each of the entries within this excellent volume are outstanding reads, containing complex characters, fantastic narrative arcs and Sakai’s impressive artwork. Gen’s Story gets another five-star review from me, and Stan Sakai has once again shown why he is one of my favourite creative minds.

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