C J Sansom, Lamentation

C J Sansom's Tudor mystery series always end up on the best sellers list when they come. They are both popular, and well received by critiques and he is highly regarded as an author of historical fiction. Can't help but think he gets more respect that authors of the genre as he as in man in a category dominated by women... but that's a whole other argument and this is meant to be a review post.

The Plot:   The sixth book in the series, Matthew Shardlake lawyer/investigator returns to unravel plots and intrigues of the Tudor royal court. Henry VIII is dying, and is concerned about his legacy, and religious tensions threaten civil harmony. Catholics, Reformers, Anabaptist and Lollards are all Christians, but their differences regarding the holy communion are leading to unrest, charges of heresy and murder. Catherine Parr, the wife of the king, has had a potential inflammatory and heretical memoir stolen, Lamentations of a Sinner, so she calls on her long-term friend Shardlake to retrieve it, before it is made public.

Rating: 3.5/5    

Tom Rob Smith, Child 44

Crime isn't really considered to be a highbrow genre, and I am also guilty of looking down on it, I think it's partly because there is a lot of really crap crime-fiction out there (Martina Cole, I'm looking at you).

Popular authors tend to bash them out, sticking to a tried and tested formula, which enables the reader to solve the crime before they've even completed the first chapter. Good crime-fiction though is truly impressive, the ability to spin a tangled plot and eke out clues and suspense is a rare and beautiful thing.

With Child 44, Tom Rob Smith gives crime-fiction a decent attempt, and manages to deliver on some fronts.

The Plot: 1933 Russia, near dead from starvation Pavel hunts in the nearby woods desperate for a meal, absorbed in his task he is unaware that he is also been hunted. 1953 Moscow, Leo is an investigator for the MGB, it his job to root out dissidents and enemies of the state, a task he performs ruthlessly and without question. When a colleges' son is found dead, Leo is sent to remind the grieving parents that murder does not officially exist in the Soviet Union. However, Leo's loyalty to the party and the country is tested when his own wife is investigated for crimes against the state. The bodies of mutilated children are discovered, and Leo begins to question is blind obedience and his role in the MGB.  

Rating: 3.5/5

Lyndsay Faye, Dust and Shadow

Seems ages ago that I did a proper book review- so allow me to present Dust and Shadow by Lyndsay Faye....

The Plot: A serial killer is on the loose, dubbed The Knife, he is murdering, then mutilating street-walkers in Whitechapel. Unable to solve the case, the metropolitan police engage the help of a renown crime-fighting duo, Dr Watson and Sherlock Holmes. It isn't long before suspicion falls on Holmes himself, and the private detective may well have met his match with Jack the Ripper.  

Rating: 3/4

M.R.C Kasasian, The Mangle Street Murders

The Mangle Street Murders was kindly recommended to me by Tiziana. I'm really grateful for her suggestion, as it turned out to be a really good read, set in  one of my favourite eras, the late 19th Century. 

The Plot: Sidney Grice, priggish and pompous, is a 'personal' detective, well-known for solving grisly cases. His ward, March Middleton, recently bereaved and new to London, is determined to assist Grice in his investigation, despite his objections. A young woman has been found stabbed over forty times in her own sitting room, her husband, William Ashby, stands accused of her murder. Grace Dillinger is convinced of her son-in-law's innocence and pleads with Grice to discover the real killer.

Rating: 3.5