Among the Departed by Vicki Delany

When I want to read a good traditional police procedural, with characters whose lives change in the course of the series, I'm very content to pick up one of Vicki Delany's Constable Molly Smith books. The Trafalgar, British Columbia setting is perfect, providing a small town atmosphere while the police have to deal with crimes that affect the citizens and the tourists who visit. Among the Departed, Delany's latest, is another satisfying story that incorporates one of my favorite elements in a mystery, the cold case.

Molly is with her boyfriend, Constable Adam Tocek of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, when his dog, Norman, is called out on a case. Adam is the dog handler for that area of British Columbia, so when a five-year-old boy goes missing from a campground, Adam takes Molly with him to search for the child. They find the child, but when Molly trips trying to pick him up, Norman uncovers bones that appear to be human.

The age of the bones lead Sergeant John Winters to suspect they may be the bones of a man who went missing when Molly was in eighth grade. She may have been the last person, outside of his family, to see Brian Nowak before he disappeared, since she spent the night before with her friend, Nicky Nowak. Brian Nowak's disappearance changed his family. Neither of his children had the life they expected to lead. In the course of the new investigation, family and town stories are going to be re-examined. Lives that were tragically changed years earlier can now impact innocent lives in Trafalgar.

It was a pleasure to return to Delany's Trafalgar in this mystery, catching up with Molly Smith, her friends and family, and John Winters and his wife. The lives of these characters are important to the stories and the plots. I'd recommend that any reader start with the first in the series, In the Shadow of the Glacier.

Delany does a wonderful job showing how people can be affected by the past, linking one man to so many others. Although I love to read cold cases, one statement made in this book hit me. "Open up old wounds, potentially cause a great deal of pain. Cold cases could be very nasty things."  Among the Departed shows just how nasty those cases can get.

Vicki Delany's website is www.vickidelany.com

Among the Departed by Vicki Delany. Poisoned Pen Press. ©2011. ISBN 9781590588895 (paperback), 277p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure - I read a copy of the book that I purchased for the library.

The Mugger by Ed McBain

In the introduction to Ed McBain's first 87th Precinct mystery, Cop Hater, McBain said his city, Isola, is a character. It's fascinating to see the description of that city in the opening chapter of The Mugger. It opens with, "The city could be nothing but a woman, and that's good because your business is women." McBain then vividly describes the various locations of the city as parts of a woman's body, beginning with "Her tossed head in the auburn crowns of molting autumn foliage, Riverhead, and the park." And, the opening description ends, "But she could be nothing but a woman, and that's good because your business is women. You are a mugger."

The detectives of the 87th Precinct are dealing with a mugger who has already attacked a dozen women. After hitting them, and taking their purses, he bows to them and says, "Clifford thanks you, madam." Steve Carella is on his honeymoon, but the mugger is driving the other detectives nuts. Detectives Hal Willis, Roger Havilland, and Meyer Meyer are all involved. They try everything from an undercover detective, Eileen Burke, to the use of snitches. When a seventeen-year-old girl is murdered soon after a visit from patrolman Bert Kling, it appears that the mugger has grown more violent. Kling may not be a detective, but something just feels odd about the young woman's death.

It's fascinating to go back and read these wonderful police procedurals written in the 1950s. The police must still resort to old-fashioned hard work. Havilland even resorts to police brutality while interrogating a suspect. Even so, the book has its humorous moments. Meyer Meyer keeps a long-running joke going through the course of the story. There's a great scene with Havilland after the mugger is captured, in which he says, "Havilland thanks you, madam."

I'm very glad Gar Anthony Haywood insisted I read the 87th Precinct novels. Once you read one, it's obvious why Ed McBain was popular. The Mugger is just one example of his mastery of the police procedural.

The Mugger by Ed McBain. Grand Central Publishing, ©1956. ISBN 9780446601436 (paperback), 178p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure - Library book

Cop Hater by Ed McBain

About a month ago, author Gar Anthony Haywood asked a question on the listserv DorothyL. What author have you always wanted to read, and haven't yet read? So, I confessed that as much as I love police procedurals, I hadn't read Ed McBain. The number of books in the 87th Precinct series is intimidating, so I always said I'd read them when I retired. But, not only did Mr. Haywood write back and say I needed to read Ed McBain, so did other authors. Since I'm a mystery fan who starts at the beginning of a series, I picked up Cop Hater, the first 87th Precinct Mystery.

Before I discuss the book, I want to clarify that the edition pictured on my blog is not the edition I read. I was lucky enough to get an edition from Armchair Detective Library from our library. That edition has a wonderful introduction by Ed McBain in which he discusses the beginning of this series. This first book was published in paperback in 1956. The editor-in-chief at Pocket Books said they were looking for a mystery writer to replace Erle Stanley Gardner in their regular rotation. McBain came up with the idea of basing a series around a squadron of police detectives, making them a "conglomerate hero." Then, he created the mythical city of Isola, New York. He made the city a character, and he made the weather a character. I appreciated the opportunity to read Ed McBain's comments about the origin of this series.

McBain skillfully sucks the reader into the story, introducing first the city, then a man who becomes the victim of a killer. But, that victim is a cop. When Detectives Steve Carella and Hank Bush arrive at the scene of the crime, they recognize the victim as a detective in their precinct. The investigation heats up at that point, along with the city itself. The city gets hotter and hotter, as one cop after another is shot. The heat, the tension, and the investigation begins to wear on the cops, and even their wives and girlfriends. No one knows where to look for the killer, although the cops are all looking over their shoulders.

The author does a magnificent job enveloping the story in heat. Take just one scene. "The men in the Squad Room worked in their shirt sleeves. Their shirts were stained with perspiration, large dark amoeba blots which nibbled at the cloth, spreading from beneath the armpits, spreading form the hollow of the spinal columns. The fans did not help the heat at all. The fans circulated the suffocating breath of the city, and the men sucked in the breath and typed up their reports in triplicate, and checked their worksheets, and dreamt of Summers in the White Mountains, or Summers in Atlantic City with the ocean slapping their faces. They called complainants, and they called suspects, and their hands sweated on the black plastic of the phone, and they could feel Heat like a living thing which invaded their bodes and seared them with a million white-hot daggers."

It's fascinating to read this first mystery in the series, a book that's fifty-five years old, and stands up well. It's still intriguing; still realistic. At the same time, the reader is very much aware of the passing of time. When the killer is injured, there's no DNA analysis, although the lab technicians do a magnificent job with the tools they have available at that time. There's a detective referred to as a Negro. But, time really hasn't aged this book too much.  It's evident that Ed McBain knew how to write a riveting story even with the first in this series. It wasn't his first book, but Cop Hater originated so much that would become standard in police procedurals over the years.

If you have a chance to pick up an edition of this book with the introduction in it, I urge you to do it. And, thank you to Gar Anthony Haywood for insisting I read Ed McBain's 87th Precinct books without waiting for another twelve or fifteen more years to pass. Cop Hater is only going to be the first of many enjoyable evenings spent with the detectives of the 87th Precinct.

Cop Hater by Ed McBain. Armchair Detective Library, ©1956. ISBN 0922890064 (hardcover), 166p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure - Library book

Prey on Patmos by Jeffrey Siger

What can be worse than Greek politics?  Maybe Greek politics involving the church, and that's what Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis is caught up in with the latest pageturner by Jeffrey Siger, Prey on Patmos.

Patmos is the eastern Greek island on which Saint John lived when he wrote the Book of Revelation.  When a beloved monk from the thousand year old monastery is murdered in the town square one morning during Easter Week, Andreas is sent to the scene of the crime.  When he and his assistant, Kouros, discover that the body was moved, the townspeople trampled all over the crime scene, and no one wants to cooperate, it feels as if the "Police chief, the mayor, and the head of the monastery are working together to screw up the investigation."  But, it's only going to get worse for Andreas' case in this tense political drama. 

Who is actually behind the murder?  Andreas knows it isn't a random mugging, but rumors abound.  There are stories of Russians, political infighting in the Orthodox Church, and mysterious monks.  And, Vassilas, the dead monk, was a scholar, a researcher who had uncovered secrets someone wanted to hide.  As Kouros said, their investigation involving stories of the Antichrist and Russians was "Beginning to sound like one of those books by that American, Dan Brown."

Poor Andreas.  Siger traps him in Greek politics and church politics, and even his personal life is not exempt.  This son of an policeman who killed himself, is now a father-to-be, afraid to propose to his baby's mother, Lila, daughter of one of Greece's oldest, wealthiest families, and a socially prominent widow.  Fortunately, Andreas is a cynical, powerful cop himself, with a sense of humor.  Siger surrounds him with wonderful characters, his assistant, Kouros, an intelligent man who provides comic relief, Tassos, Andreas' mentor, who knows where all the bodies are buried, and Maggie, who runs Andreas' office, and probably the entire Athens General Police Headquarters.  Then there's Lila herself, a wonderful loving woman, but a force to be reckoned with. 

Jeffrey Siger's mysteries are complicated, entrancing stories, wrapped up in politics.  This one adds church politics and family pressure.  Siger skillfully adds the wonderful Greek settings and intriguing, realistic characters to the mix for a book that appeals in so many ways.  The books immerse the reader in the Greek culture, with all of its traps and dangers.  Prey on Patmos is a powerful mystery of pride and temptation and politics played out on the Greek stage.

Jeffrey Siger's website is http://www.jeffreysiger.com/

Prey on Patmos by Jeffrey Siger.  Poisoned Pen Press, ©2011. ISBN 9781590587669 (hardcover), 250p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure - The publisher sent me a copy for my Kindle so I could review it.

Every Bitter Thing by Leighton Gage

I've been a fan of Leighton Gage's Chief Inspector Mario Silva books since the first one, Blood of the Wicked.  The books focus on Brazil's politics and crime, bringing to light details that most of us don't know.  While the books have been graphic at times, the tone has been lightened by the black humor used in the conversations between the police.  These are outstanding police procedurals, but the violence may have put some readers off in the past.  The cover art may look grim on the latest book, Every Bitter Thing, however Gage has toned down the violence, and placed the emphasis on the police investigation.   Readers of police procedurals don't have to be afraid to try the new crime novel.

Chief Inspector Mario Silva of the Federal Police is called in when the son of Venezuela's Foreign Minister is found murdered in his apartment in Brasilia.  Although the local police want to arrest the man's lover, Silva wants to check the national crime database.  It doesn't take long to discover that other people have been murdered in the same way, shot in the abdomen, and brutally beaten.  The killings have occurred all over Brasil.  Except for one victim, they seem to have only one thing in common.  All the victims were passengers on TAB Flight 8101 from Miami to São Paulo, Brazil. 

Although the crimes are still brutal in Every Bitter Thing, the emphasis is placed on the investigation of the murders.  Gage beautifully captures the relationships between the police officers, with Silva's dry humor.  He isn't afraid to poke fun at one of his officers, and he shares a dislike of showboating police officers, and those out for political gain.  Silva and his team take their jobs seriously, but they find their own ways to deal with crooked cops, slimy politicians, and criminals whose punishments seem too light.  Pay close attention to the conversations so as not to miss the irony and black humor.  Despite the dark nature of the crimes, there is wonderful humor in this book, including a very funny scene involving dachshunds. 

Leighton Gage is another one of Soho Press' authors who writes outstanding, descriptive crime novels that bring a country vividly to life.  Brazil is portrayed with all its political corruption and crime, although Gage also shows the beauty of the country.   Every Bitter Thing gives us another glimpse at a beautiful country, suffering from poverty, violence, and corruption, and a small group of men who struggle against terrible odds to try to maintain a semblance of order.

Leighton Gage's website is http://www.leightongage.com/ and he blogs regularly at http://murderiseverywhere.blogspot.com/.

Every Bitter Thing by Leighton Gage.  Soho Press, ©2010. ISBN 9781569478455 (hardcover), 388p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure - The publisher sent me a copy of the book, in hopes I would review it.

Treachery in the Yard by Adimchinma Ibe

As a fan of police procedurals, I enjoyed discovering a new author, and a new setting for those books.  Treachery in the Yard marks Adimchinma Ibe's debut as an author of a series set in Nigeria, his homeland.  It's a novel that shows corruption, politics, and murder are the same worldwide.

Lieutenant Tamunoemi (Tammy) Peterside is a homicide detective in Port Harcourt.  A bomb that explodes at a politician's house draws him into a political investigation that turns deadly.  As witnesses, suspects, and lawyers end up dead, Tammy's superiors warn him his investigation is going in the wrong direction.  But, warnings do nothing to stop the cynical, honest cop.  Instead, they only make him more determined to prove that another politician is behind all of the killings.  It's going to take more than politicians or police with higher ranks to stop Tammy from working the case.  His own death might be the only thing that will stop him.

So many of the authors writing police procedurals set in countries other than the U.S. do an excellent job of describing the country, introducing readers to a culture we don't encounter often.  Ibe is no exception.  He provides a little background, describing the military junta that took over in the '80s, with their need to control the oil wells, maintain power, and keep control.  He describes the difference between the wealthy and well-connected, living behind walls, and the rest of Port Harcourt, where tap water is unreliable, power outages are routine, and people can go days without electricity.  Unemployment is a major issue in Nigeria, but, as a homicide detective, Ibe's character, Detective Tammy Peterside, is assured of a job. 

Tammy is a cynical realist, an intense man determined to solve his case.  He understands why he's where he is in the police hierarchy.  "That was why he was Chief, and I was a detective.  He cared about politics.  I cared about solving the crime."  Showing his determination, Tammy realizes, "I don't like murder investigations when the bodies pile up.  You have to spend a lot of time climbing over the bodies to get to the truth."

I liked Tammy Peterside.  I liked Ibe's succinct writing style.  His turn of phrase fits his character beautifully.  Most of all, I liked Treachery in the Yard, this debut police procedural set in Nigeria.  I hope fans of foreign mysteries and police procedurals discover a setting other than Scandinavia.  I'm hoping to see more of Detective Tammy Peterside and his creator, Adimchinma Ibe.

Treachery in the Yard by Adimchinma Ibe.  St. Martin's Minotaur, ©2010. ISBN 9780312585938 (hardcover), 160p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure - The publisher sent me this book, in hopes I would review it.