The Deadliest Fall By Charlie Cochrane Riptide Press, 2023 Five stars
What I love about Charlie Cochrane’s books is that they’re so very British. I mean, The Deadliest Fall By Charlie Cochrane Riptide Press, 2023 Five stars
What I love about Charlie Cochrane’s books is that they’re so very British. I mean, she is British, but part of her charm for this American reader is that she embraces the individuality of her small-town characters. In this book, that Britishness is emphatic, because it’s set in 1947, just two years after the end of World War II.
Leslie Cadmore, walking his naughty labrador Max in the park near his mother’s house, happens to run across two young women, one of whom is a childhood friend he hasn’t seen in years. His chance meeting of Marianne Sibley, who is then invited by his mother to tea, opens a veritable Pandora’s Box of memories, questions, and regrets.
At the center of this is Leslie’s five-year rift with Marianne’s twin brother Patrick, another childhood friend who had been his lover for years before a stupid argument broke them up. That argument was triggered by the sudden death of a mutual acquaintance of theirs, a death that was ruled an accident. Leslie is not so sure, and his tea with Marianne sets off a chain of little events that lead to conversations that lead to something bigger, deeper, and darker than any of them ever imagined.
The restrained, stiff-upper-lip quality of Cochrane’s writing for this book is spot-on. This is not the England of today, but a world hardly remembered now, as people were putting their lives back together after the war dislocation and destruction. The world was still full of Victorians and Edwardians, and their influence held sway in English life.
This is the tipping point between modern Great Britain and the old Great Britain, when everyone was polite and circumspect—and love between two men was still something that could send you to prison. Cochrane captures that nostalgic primness, in language and behavior, while also depicting the growing cracks in the social strictures of the past that would eventually shatter and fall away.
Leslie reconnects with Patrick in order to discuss difficult questions about the past, and finds in his old friend the same regrets that he himself feels. Together, they start a quiet dance of inquiry and honesty, asking questions and having conversations previously suppressed by circumstance.
It’s a beautiful story, beautifully rendered by an author who sees the past in living color.
Merged review:
The Deadliest Fall By Charlie Cochrane Riptide Press, 2023 Five stars
What I love about Charlie Cochrane’s books is that they’re so very British. I mean, she is British, but part of her charm for this American reader is that she embraces the individuality of her small-town characters. In this book, that Britishness is emphatic, because it’s set in 1947, just two years after the end of World War II.
Leslie Cadmore, walking his naughty labrador Max in the park near his mother’s house, happens to run across two young women, one of whom is a childhood friend he hasn’t seen in years. His chance meeting of Marianne Sibley, who is then invited by his mother to tea, opens a veritable Pandora’s Box of memories, questions, and regrets.
At the center of this is Leslie’s five-year rift with Marianne’s twin brother Patrick, another childhood friend who had been his lover for years before a stupid argument broke them up. That argument was triggered by the sudden death of a mutual acquaintance of theirs, a death that was ruled an accident. Leslie is not so sure, and his tea with Marianne sets off a chain of little events that lead to conversations that lead to something bigger, deeper, and darker than any of them ever imagined.
The restrained, stiff-upper-lip quality of Cochrane’s writing for this book is spot-on. This is not the England of today, but a world hardly remembered now, as people were putting their lives back together after the war dislocation and destruction. The world was still full of Victorians and Edwardians, and their influence held sway in English life.
This is the tipping point between modern Great Britain and the old Great Britain, when everyone was polite and circumspect—and love between two men was still something that could send you to prison. Cochrane captures that nostalgic primness, in language and behavior, while also depicting the growing cracks in the social strictures of the past that would eventually shatter and fall away.
Leslie reconnects with Patrick in order to discuss difficult questions about the past, and finds in his old friend the same regrets that he himself feels. Together, they start a quiet dance of inquiry and honesty, asking questions and having conversations previously suppressed by circumstance.
It’s a beautiful story, beautifully rendered by an author who sees the past in living color....more
Puzzle for Two By Josh Lanyon Published by JustJoshin, 2023 Four stars
There is a certain familiarity about Zach Davies and Flint Carey—they call to mind Puzzle for Two By Josh Lanyon Published by JustJoshin, 2023 Four stars
There is a certain familiarity about Zach Davies and Flint Carey—they call to mind the bookstore owner and the police captain I like so much in the Pirate’s Cove series. But Zach and Flint are a bit edgier, and this isn’t a cozy mystery. Like Davies and Flint, this story is edgier, as embodied by the truly creepy character of Alton Beacher. Zach is maybe too sweet to be a private detective. Then, again, he’s not too trusting, just lacking in self-confidence. Flint is the perfect foil for him. Flint is the tough guy that Zach hasn’t seen as anything other than a business rival, until things get very dark and Zach suddenly sees Flint in a different light.
Two broken relationships are at the psychological core of this book—Zach’s ex Ben haunts the page like an unresolved bad dream; and Alton Beacher’s possibly-not-sane wife, Zora is quite literally ghostlike. It’s nicely arranged so that the reader can understand how it takes two to kill a relationship. Again, this isn’t the cozy version of this kind of dynamic you see in Pirate’s Cove; Both Ben and Zora take on sinister qualities that provide two distinctly different kinds of shivers as the plot unrolls.
I finished this book definitely feeling it should be the first of a series, although that is not made at all clear by Lanyon. I’d love to see more of Flint and Zach—not to mention Brooke, Zach’s “little” sister, who has untapped potential as a character just begging for more page time.
Merged review:
Puzzle for Two By Josh Lanyon Published by JustJoshin, 2023 Four stars
There is a certain familiarity about Zach Davies and Flint Carey—they call to mind the bookstore owner and the police captain I like so much in the Pirate’s Cove series. But Zach and Flint are a bit edgier, and this isn’t a cozy mystery. Like Davies and Flint, this story is edgier, as embodied by the truly creepy character of Alton Beacher. Zach is maybe too sweet to be a private detective. Then, again, he’s not too trusting, just lacking in self-confidence. Flint is the perfect foil for him. Flint is the tough guy that Zach hasn’t seen as anything other than a business rival, until things get very dark and Zach suddenly sees Flint in a different light.
Two broken relationships are at the psychological core of this book—Zach’s ex Ben haunts the page like an unresolved bad dream; and Alton Beacher’s possibly-not-sane wife, Zora is quite literally ghostlike. It’s nicely arranged so that the reader can understand how it takes two to kill a relationship. Again, this isn’t the cozy version of this kind of dynamic you see in Pirate’s Cove; Both Ben and Zora take on sinister qualities that provide two distinctly different kinds of shivers as the plot unrolls.
I finished this book definitely feeling it should be the first of a series, although that is not made at all clear by Lanyon. I’d love to see more of Flint and Zach—not to mention Brooke, Zach’s “little” sister, who has untapped potential as a character just begging for more page time....more
Transparent is a Color (Subparh eroes series) By Kaje Harper Published by the author, 2024 5 stars
This marvelous story puts a more literal spin on the notTransparent is a Color (Subparh eroes series) By Kaje Harper Published by the author, 2024 5 stars
This marvelous story puts a more literal spin on the notion of subparheroes. There is plenty of danger and death, but Kaje Harper manages to keep it light and humorous in the spirit of the romantic comedy is actually is.
Peregrine Crawford is the scion of a superhero family, but has disappointed his mother by developing what appears to be a fairly lame superpower—he can change the color of things. Isolated from his family by his supposed failure, he’s a lonely young man. He doesn’t seem particularly shy, but he faces the world with a complete lack of self-confidence.
Then Perry finds a bomb in his mailroom workplace using the one rather special aspect of his power: he can make things transparent (hence the title of the book). Through this discovery he meets Sergeant Deckard, big blond member of the Nova City Bomb Squad--and his remarkable bomb-sniffing dog Nix. In classic rom-com silliness, Perry ends up being taken to Deckard’s house, because not only is the sergeant convinced he can’t take care of himself; but he feels an instant attraction for this awkward, nerdy guy. Right away the protocol-driven cop is torn between his duty as a policeman and his desire to be close to Perry (who doesn’t help at all).
The personal situation is more than balanced by the sudden deadly violence that shakes up Nova City, all tied to the bomb Perry found. Deckard can’t tell Perry what’s going on, yet can’t bring himself to put Perry at risk by cutting him loose. To add to the confusion, mysterious notes from something called SPAM begin to appear for Perry.
Harper writes this very well. The characters are great and the complicated situation is handled with skill. Harper moves back and forth between the plotlines, ratcheting up anxiety over the crimes at the same time the emotional sparks build between the two protagonists.
And just when you think the story is over, we get a little bonus; a dollop of comic relief that cleverly masks another moment of threat. Meanwhile, we get to watch Peregrine Crawford turn into something more than his mother ever thought he could be, and it warms the heart.
A well-crafted story with amusing and interesting characters is what Kaje Harper always gives her readers. That’s why I keep coming back....more
Murder in Shades of Red (DS Rees 3) By Ripley Hayes Published by the author, 2023 5 stars
I have really liked all the books (three, plus the prequel) in tMurder in Shades of Red (DS Rees 3) By Ripley Hayes Published by the author, 2023 5 stars
I have really liked all the books (three, plus the prequel) in this series by Welsh author Ripley Hayes. Hayes establishes Charlie Rees (Detective Sargeant Rees) as a funny, complicated, and profoundly good person, caught up in circumstances beyond his control—and somehow managing to rise above the worst situation.
Shades of Red, set in New York City, starts off hard, at the scene of a mass shooting as seen through Charlie’s eyes. The two important things about this scene (about which the author offers a trigger warning at the beginning) are that (1) Charlie is a hero and (2) he cannot prevent terrible things from happening. The rest of the book alternates between Charle’s point of view and that of his art-school-principal boyfriend Tom. Coping with trauma and fear, Charlie is nonetheless sucked into a mad, Kafkaesque crime drama in which he finds he can’t seem to trust anybody. Even his close friends appear to be going against him; and the strangers in the tale, well forget about it.
Somehow, Hayes manages to keep the action light-hearted, even when it’s grim. I don’t know how that is accomplished, but maybe it’s because Charlie’s character is gentle and humorous, even when teetering on the edge of despair. Hayes imparts a great sense of place in the New York City of today, its surreal grittiness and sublime beauty, looming around Charlie in the wake a vacation with Tom turned nightmare.
It's not just readable, but, like the previous volumes in this series, is crisp and clever, human goodness contrasted with the worst of human nature. There is some pretty overt political commentary, which I personally loved, and which is very much tuned to the moment we’re living in here in the USA.
Here’s wishing Charlie Rees and his adventures a long life. ...more
Murder in Shades of Blue and Green (DS Charlie Rees, 1) By Ripley Hayes Published by the author, 2023 Five stars
I really liked this book and am so glad iMurder in Shades of Blue and Green (DS Charlie Rees, 1) By Ripley Hayes Published by the author, 2023 Five stars
I really liked this book and am so glad it’s the first of a series. The launching premise—that Charlie Rees is being transferred to this messed up small-town police station to save his career—is clever. Rees’s career being at risk plays an important role in helping the reader experience the morass of deceit and corruption into which Rees finds himself dropped. He feels confused and helpless, on top of the public shaming in the press that landed him in Llanfair.
The important thing about Charlie is that he’s a good cop and a good guy, but has gotten caught in a world of prejudice that seems to be driven by a shameless press (this is the UK, after all). Charlie doubts everyone and everything, most of all his own worth (there is a mother story here yet to be fully explored). But, boy, he has good instincts, and is compassionate and kind.
The mystery itself is appalling and beautifully crafted. Someone is attacking female students at a famous art school in picturesque coastal town in Wales. Both the school and the local police seem to be determined to cover it up, and Charlie Rees is brought in to clean up the mess (probably on the assumption that he could sink no lower).
The characters in the book are beautifully drawn, even if they’re not playing huge roles. The place and its people create an intense setting against which Charlie’s own damaged self can heal and begin to act as a force of good. There is just the right amount of romance to tease you into wanting more—and then the book ends and you know you have to have the next one. Which I do.
(There is a novella already available that covers the story of the scandal that did so much damage to Rees. I think I will not read it, because I like the tantalizing bits of Charlie’s backstory and don’t want to spoil it by learning too much!) ...more
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