In the Woods by Tana French

Years ago, I used to devour those quick, cozy, connect-the-dots mysteries, often reading nothing else for months on end.  Then, suddenly, I ground to halt, having grown tired of the often predictable plots and one-dimensional characters. I vowed to only read mysteries that were well written, with intelligent plots and fascinating characters.

I voiced my new resolution and high standards to my bookgroup at the time and was quickly introduced to a range of authors including Deborah Crombie, Elizabeth George, and Peter Robinson  On my own, sans bookgroup, I’ve since discovered Louise Penny, Kate Atkinson, and Susan Hill.   So, my mystery reading days are back in full swing.

Thanks to a friend’s urging, I’ve just discovered a new series and author — Tana French.  I must have been under a rock, because In The Woods (her first in the series) was published in 2007.  I was aware of this book, having seen it over the years.  But, look at that cover — doesn’t it look like a horror filled, psychological thriller?  Shame on me for judging a book by its cover.

In the Woods immediately pulls you in, the terrifically written prologue sets the stage and puts the reader into a carefree summer day in a 1984 suburb of Dublin with three children playing in the woods.

When the children don’t return home, only one child, Adam Robert Ryan, is found catatonic, remembering nothing but his shoes are soaked with blood.  Now twenty years later, Ryan, going only by Adam Ryan, is a detective for the Dublin Murder Squad.  No one knows of his connection with the 1984 incident.   A young girl is found murdered in the very same woods and Ryan finds himself in his old hometown which triggers memories of what happened on that tragic day.

In the Woods is narrated by Detective Ryan and Ms. French has given him a complex voice – taunted by the past, torn up with survivors guilt and the hard, cool viewpoint of a detective.

What I warn you to remember is that I am a detective.  This is my job, and you don’t go into it — or, if you do, you don’t last — without some natural affinity for its priorities and demands.  What I am telling you, before you begin my story, is this — two things: I crave truth. And I lie.

Detective Ryan and his partner from the Dublin murder squad, Cassie Maadox, begin their gentle but relentless investigation into the death of young Katy Devlin. Their relationship is intricately developed and compassionate.

How can I ever make you understand Cassie and me?  I would have to take you there, walk you down every path our secret shared geography. The truism says it’s against all the odds for a straight man and woman to be real friends, platonic friends; we rolled thirteen, threw down five aces and ran away giggling.  She was the summertime cousin out of storybooks, the one you taught to swim at some midge-humming lake and pestered with tadpoles down her swimsuit, with whom you practiced first kisses on a heather hillside and laughed about it years later…

Ms. French deftly weaves back and forth between the two plots and it’s fascinating to see if two murders relate or are a mere coincidence. The interrogation scenes are some of the best parts of this debut;

It becomes second nature, interrogation; it seeps into your blood until, no matter how stunned or exhausted or excited your are, this remains unchanged:  the polite professional tone, the clean, relentless march as each answer unfolds into question after new question.

There is rich atmosphere, from the Irish weather;

It was your basic Irish summer day, irritatingly coy, all sun and skidding clouds and jackknifing breeze, ready at any second to make an effortless leap into bucketing rain or blazing sun or both.

To the murdered girl’s autopsy;

I thought of the old superstition that the soul lingers near the body for a few days, bewildered and unsure

In the Woods is atmospheric and engrossing, with richly drawn characters and some lovely detailed writing.  Hard to fathom that this is Ms. French’s first novel.

I read most of the day – couldn’t put it down. The ending does not tie up all the loose ends but I’m hoping the next in this intelligent series will start to resolve some of the questions.

Out of my way folks — got to get to the library for the next one, The Likeness.

 

Warning, the crime(s) are graphic and do involve child rape.

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Her by Harriet Lane

You may remember my review of Harriet Lane’s previous novel Alys Always.

I greatly admire Ms. Lane’s spare and visual writing style –she’s a writer who can paint so much in so few words.

Her is her second novel and like Alys Always it’s creepy minimalist writing at its best.

Told in the first-person narrative from two women’s perspectives, the novel teases you along  in alternating chapters. 

Nina spots Emma in North London — a woman she knows from her childhood and contrives a way to connect with Emma — we know not why.

Emma is a harried, scattered mother of two kids.  She is also vulnerable and clueless – she doesn’t remember Nina and takes her to be a new friend. You cringe as Nina (obviously a psychopath) begins to orchestrate a series of devious and manipulative events to successfully insinuate herself into Emma’s life.

Emma’s messy, but ordinary domestic life is the perfect stage for Nina to play out her menacing plan.  True friends – maybe not.  Nina purposely messes with Emma — household items go missing, babysitting plans go awry, a child seems to get temporarily lost — these haphazard domestic incidents provide a ominous backdrop.  The reader knows this is a household about to unravel in a most disturbing way.

And so we are intrigued…what’s going to happen?  Why is Nina so intent on connecting with Emma?  What was the past incident that is causing this evil charade?

As in her previous novel, Ms. Lane is very good at painting the seemingly normal, but creepy stalker.  Slightly “off” people who seamlessly infiltrate themselves into innocent lives.  You read along, nervously aware that something terrible is going to come of all this, but unsure what, how or why.  That is the mark of an intelligently constructed thriller. 

This book has been compared to the currently popular thrillers  Gone Girl and Girl on a Train.  I’ve read both books and Her is far superior writing and I think more thrilling and creepy.  Again, it’s the minimalist writing – an around-the-campfire ghost story teller who pauses for utmost effect to let your imagination fill in around the silence.

My only quibble is with the reiteration of the same event from each woman’s point of view — there isn’t enough difference in the two voices to make the re-telling fresh and so at times the narrative seems to slow down – but perhaps this is Ms. Lane’s intention –  maybe it’s supposed to be a slow burn.

Stick with it my friends, the author kicks up the tension and the last chapters are evil and frightening.  To some, the ending may feel unfinished and you may be wondering WHY? —  but that is the chilling nightmare.

 

A (very special) Christmas Crime Story

Three Days Until Christmas

Mystery in White by J. Jefferson Farjeon

Get yourself a cup of tea, this is a long story.  Back in my college days, I spent several consecutive semesters living and working in the highlands of Scotland (that’s a whole other story).  At a local church rummage sale, I came across a beat up old paperback — I think it cost me 10P.  This snowy Christmas-time mystery got me through several icy evenings in my digs on the top floor of a frigid stone landowner’s manor, which lacked any sort of central heating.  I cuddled under my eiderdown with a hot water bottle (and yes it was a real eiderdown) and read several evenings away.  I was due to go home soon, homesick and looking forward to celebrating the holidays with my loved ones.

I lugged that poor paperback back to the states, and would re-read it with my other Christmas books until it had to be rubber banded together to prevent the pages from falling out.  During one of my moves, the rubber band broke, random pages went missing and I lost the back cover.  Then several years ago in a fit of “this is ridiculous” I tossed it in the recycling bin – the poor thing wasn’t even fit for my donation box.  I sometimes remembered  this 1930’s classic crime story that kept me mesmerized when I could barely feel my fingers while reading.

So what to my wondering eye should appear but the new British Library Crime Classics reprint series and there it was – my book!  Mystery in White – A Christmas Crime Story – all gussied up and sporting a fabulous new cover.  I was on Amazon and hitting checkout before I could even take a breath.   Originally published in 1937, Mystery in White apparently went out of print and is now republished as part of this new series. (Check out the series for the retro covers alone.) The author is not as well known as many others of the Golden Age yet he was popular in his day.  From the book cover:

On Christmas Eve, heavy snowfall brings a train to a halt near the village of Hemmersby. Several of the passengers take shelter in a deserted country house, where the fire has been lit and the table laid for tea – but no one is at home.
Trapped together for Christmas, the passengers are seeking to unravel the secrets of the empty house when a murderer strikes in their midst.

I’m only halfway through my new edition, I keep stopping to marvel at its new incarnation, but I remember this is a surprisingly unusual crime story.  While the language is typical of the 1930’s Golden Age and despite its classic situation (strangers-stranded-in-a-blizzard) Mr. Farjeon gives us mysticism, unexpected plot twists, a hapless police inspector who arrives too late to solve the crimes, a dose of romance and chuckle-worthy Noel Coward humor.   Some of the situations strain credibility – how do they see the stranded car at night without flashlights?   and why does no one seem wet or cold after thrashing about outside in the blizzard?  But you’ll soon forget those little reality fails because this is a clever mystery with a snowy Christmas setting that’s sure to keep you warm and happy.

I found an image of the original hardback edition.  My paperback had the same cover. 

Murder for Christmas by Thomas Godfrey

9 Days until Christmas

I’ve had these paperbacks forever —  they’re well-worn and spine-creased – but I can’t get rid of them as they were some of the few books I had in our first apartment in New Hampshire.  I would cuddle up on the couch with two afghans – (the apartment was drafty and so-o-o cold), watch the snow and secretly savor these light stories of mystery and mayhem.

A two volume selection of yuletide mysteries from some of the classic golden age authors at their best, Agatha Christie, Georges Simenon, Stanley Ellin, Ellery Queen, and famous characters such as Sherlock Holmes, Lord Peter Wimsey, and Nero Wolfe.

There are also few anomalies  (the Woody Allen story is a plum for those readers who enjoy a little metafiction), and a few obscure works (who knew Thomas Hardy wrote a Christmas mystery which didn’t end in death and despair all around?).

There are delightfully morbid Graham Wilson drawings to dispel any Christmas saccharine sweetness that may be invading your holiday. 

Dip into a short mystery as a quick break from the holiday preparations they’re sure to get you in a festive mood (aside from the murders and whatnot).

Robert B. Parker

Just returned from a week in Palm Springs (more on that in a later post). I pulled out several unread Robert B. Parker mystery novels for the trip.  Does anyone else pick out their books for a trip even before thinking about packing other essentials like clothes and shoes?

If you don’t know about Robert B. Parker you are missing some great entertainment.  He wrote over 70 novels and his most popular was the Spenser series.  I’ve been a cult follower since the 1980’s, went to multiple readings and have several of his books personally autographed (I know I’m a NERD).

Mr. Parker’s novels crackle with wit and the best dialogue ever written.  (If you are an aspiring author, read Parker and learn how dialogue can and should deliver.)

These are quick reads (I once read one of his mysteries cover-to-cover during a 2 hour flight) but all are engaging and tightly written.  The chapters zoom along as you rapidly turn pages to chuckle at another slyly written escapade.  Spenser is a wonderful character — a hard boiled private eye who is evolved.  Spenser cooks, adores baseball and his long-time psychiatrist  girlfriend – Susan who is based on his wife Joan.  Go to the Robert B. Parker website to see pictures of Joan and you’ll see the muse and model.  Spenser is funny, yet serious but not anguished. Most of the scenes with his sidekick Hawk are laugh out loud fun.

Jessie Stone, star of his other well-known series, is a burned out, heavy drinking LA cop who rediscovers himself and a new life as a chief of police in a Massachusetts seaside village.  (Watch for the made-for-TV movies with Tom Selleck as Jessie Stone – they’re spot on and well-worth watching!)

No need to read Mr. Parker’s books in order but, in my opinion, the first five in the Spenser series are extraordinary.

Sadly, Mr. Parker (at 77) passed away in 2010 – a sudden heart attack while at his desk writing his next novel.

The Parker estate has recently hired a new writer to take over the series, but I can’t bring myself to read those.

The Long Way Home by Louise Penny

Here I am again, recommending another intelligent and well-written mystery series.  This time by a Canadian writer.   These (as with Deborah Crombie) shall and should be read in sequence (Still Life is the first).

Louise Penny is a former CBC journalist and her well-honed story telling craft makes each of her novels a gem.  The series largely focuses in and around the picturesque Canadian village of Three Pines, filled with idiosyncratic inhabitants — but these are no typical “cozy” mysteries.  The characters have  depth, humor and pathos and the plots are often intricately complex and psychological.  I eagerly await each and every one of her novels.  So I blissfully delved into The Long Way Home, the 10th in her series.

The Long Way Home finds Chief Inspector Gamache now retired in Three Pines hoping to relax and recover from the horrors he experienced (yes you must read the earlier novels to truly understand the context).  He and his wife, Reine-Marie, are enjoying village life – breakfasts at the bistro, browsing at the bookstore, dinners with friends – when one of their friends, Clara, asks Gamache to help locate her estranged and now missing husband.  Clara and Gamache are joined by Reine-Marie, Myrna, the bookstore owner, his ex-Sargent De Beauvior, and the ever-cranky poet Ruth.

This unlikely crew of investigators find themselves in the Canadian region of  Charlevoix, a place of harsh beauty along the St. Lawrence river, which has attracted artists for centuries.  The mystery orbits around paintings of the beautiful landscape and Canadian artists.  You can see some of the artwork here.   This novel is fairly steeped in art – even the cover of the book feels and looks like a canvas. Part of the mystery also refers to a place in Scotland dubiously named “The Garden of Cosmic Speculation”, it really does exist and looks fascinating – check it out here.  As always, with Ms. Penny’s novels, I find myself making a list of things to Google.

Back to the story —  this is a markedly more philosophical and somber novel which deliberately mirrors Gamache’s introspection since his retirement from the force. Much of the book is psychologically driven and I grew tired of Clara’s tormented artist self pity. The artistic process and angst is discussed ad nauseum and is used as motive where it really doesn’t make sense.  There is some repetition and reiteration  — OK-OK we get the Balm of Gilead reference already! Basically, I longed for the plot to step more lively, if you please.

There were moments of the old charm and humor (nearly not enough for this reader):

“Ergo, he painted them on his return to Canada,” said Clara.

“Ergo?” asked Myrna.

“Don’t tell me you’ve never wanted to use it,” said Clara.

“Not now that I hear how it really sounds.”

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed this book and it retains Ms. Penny’s gorgeous writing.  I was happy to revisit the Three Pines, its characters (including one foul-mouthed duck), glimpse into Gamache’s new life (he reads each morning on a bench overlooking the village) and share in the non-stop cozy tea breaks and good meals – does that Bistro ever close?

The Long Way Home is still an excellent read, just not on par with Ms. Penny’s previous novels. I remain a steadfast  fan and will eagerly await Ms. Penny’s next installment in this smart, original series.

One big rant: Come on Ms. Penny you’re better than this book’s melodramatic ending!

(I am hoping Ms. Penny doesn’t fall into a series black hole ala Elizabeth George —  whose mysteries, in my opinion, lost their way after she killed off Helen.)