Brief Mention: Nonfiction for Crime Buffs (by Tom McCarthy, Bruce Goldfarb, Billy Jensen)

Our review platform is meant for ardent collectors of mysteries and crime fiction, as we ourselves have been for decades. That said, now and then a publisher or publicity person sends along a work of nonfiction related to crime. We generally just pass them along to someone who needs them (research! research!). Here are three that lingered in the office for a while and are now headed out to further readers ... you might want to order one or more of them for your reference shelf. Here's why:

1. You love caper mysteries. Maybe you grew up with Donald Westlake (or discovered him later in life) and love the humorous twist. Most of all, though, you appreciate a tale of a good heist. Your recent "likes" may include Tim Hallinan's Junior Bender series, or the San Juan Islands capers written by Bethany Maines, or some of the Colin Cotterill series and an occasional treasure from David Carkeet. Or, of course, you're still hoping someone will reveal what happened to the art stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardiner Museum? Nope, sorry, that's not in THE GREATEST HEIST STORIES EVER TOLD, edited by Tom McCarthy and published by Lyons Press in 2019. But DB Cooper is in here! So are eight other "compelling and true stories of brilliant plans, guile, and nerves of steel," as the editor describes the selections. "Planning is everything, and carrying out those plans is no easy task ... benefits for these clever thieves were abundant—loads of money and the freedom to do whatever they wanted with it. If only for a short time."

2. You're obsessed with how the forensics work out. Did you mark your calendar for the recent TV miniseries featuring Lincoln Rhyme hunting for the Bone Collector? Shelve every book by Patricia Cornwell next to your bed, until her later titles starting making you feel too ill or invaded your sleep with overly realistic nightmares? Do you pick apart a Kathy Reichs or even an Archer Mayor mystery, probing whether a death investigator or coroner would really miss that particular hint? Frankly, you need the back story, which you'll find in 18 TINY DEATHS: THE UNTOLD STORY OF FRANCES GLESSNER LEE AND THE INVENTION OF MODERN FORENSICS (Sourcebooks, 2020). Bruce Goldfarb whips the details of this woman's life and classrooms into a well-laid-out tale of scientific investigation. It puts the modern science into perspective and shows how hard it can be to move things forward ... especially as a grandmother without a college degree. The reading's a bit slow, but there are lots of golden nuggets.

3. You can't resist those late-night true-crime shows on TV; you drive extra slowly past any local murder site; you wonder whether the detectives would let you offer your insight, based on how clever or intuitive you are. Is that you? Or would you rather get the true story of someone this really applied to, and how he went from journalism to solving mysteries himself ... that's Billy Jensen, who relates his own engagement in crimesolving in CHASE DARKNESS WITH ME (Sourcebooks again, 2019). This is solidly first-person narrative, and doesn't pretend to be balanced. But my goodness, is it ever a page-turner! If you can put up with Billy talking entirely about himself and his perceptions, grab this for your shelf -- or give a copy to a friend who fits the bill.

Good luck! And don't use these as how-to books, please. There are no guarantees of success in such a field ...

PS:  Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here.

Crime Reporter in Detroit? Great Setup, Now in Its Fourth Title, from Jane Haseldine

[originally published by the New York Journal of Books]

“Fans of Karen Slaughter will find Haseldine’s crime fiction rewarding, and it’s also a good balance to another excellent Detroit series from Stephen Mack Jones; of course there’s also a hint of Loren D. Estleman’s Motor City mysteries here, too.”

The fourth in Jane Haseldine’s Julia Gooden mystery series, You Fit the Pattern, resumes after her major scoop of discovering the truths in her own family: her much-loved brother’s childhood abduction, his killer (found by Julia 30 years after the crime), and the devastating role their father played in the crimes. 

Meanwhile, active crimes in Detroit have spun out of control while Julia was swamped in her own detection. There’s a killer seizing woman joggers, creating a pattern of highly planned and horrific deaths for them. When Julia realizes the serial killer is picking out women who resemble her, enacting over and over a both a passion for her and a deadly obsession, she can’t help feeling responsible—and so, driven to take risks to bring the murderer out of hiding.

Also at stake, of course, is the safety of Julia’s young sons, already traumatized enough by the threats that her career has brought into their lives. Thank goodness for her motherly housekeeper Helen and for Julia’s increasing closeness to Detective Raymond Navarro, both doing their best to keep her safe.

But when the killer’s routine turns out to include a voodoo symbol, as well as items that make it clear he’s stalking Julia and her family, things rapidly get very creepy. Soon the killer even has a nickname: the Magic Man Killer.

The one plus to this escalating mode of threat is, it pulls Julia and Navarro closer:

“Navarro sighed and ran his fingers in frustration through his thick shock of dark hair.

“’You need to do something for me. I’m not going to let you and your boys hang solo with all this going down. I checked with my apartment manager. He has a vacant unit next to mine … And I’ll be right there. I’m not going to discount that the killer knows where you live. … please think about it.’

“’Okay. We’ll do it.’

“’Just like that? I don’t have to fight you on this?’

“’Not this time. The Magic Man Killer has got a direct line to me. I don’t know how close it is, but I need to make sure he doesn’t get anywhere near my family.’”

But of course, safety’s not that simple, especially when Julia’s own drive to investigate and get the story become tangled with the creeps tracking her and trying to lure her in. Yes, that’s creeps, plural. When the nasty part of the world opens up, there’s way too much evil in there.

Haseldine’s narrative is strong and direct, a good fit for her protagonist. With this fourth in the series, Haseldine has clearly grown more adept at holding all the cards in her hands, from threats to red herrings to cop-shop interference and the loyalties that make live worth living. Fans of Karen Slaughter will find Haseldine’s crime fiction rewarding, and it’s also a good balance to another excellent Detroit series from Stephen Mack Jones; of course there’s also a hint of Loren D. Estleman’s Motor City mysteries here, too.

There’s no need to read the preceding titles first (The Last Time She Saw Him; Duplicity; Worth Killing For). But the satisfaction of seeing this sometimes gritty and always fast-paced series maturing makes it worth gathering all four titles on the shelf, and watching for the next one. 

PS:  Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here.

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Multilayered Thriller TRUST ME from Hank Phillippi Ryan

Hank Phillippi Ryan's TRUST ME, her first stand-alone thriller, came out at the end of August. I missed the chance to review it then -- but thanks to a copy she sent here recently, I dove in, and was stunned by the intricacy and layers of revelation in this complex thriller.

Mercer Hennessey, a noted crime writer with a publisher who'd like to see her get back in the saddle, has spent more than a year crippled with grief: Her husband and two-year-old daughter Sophie died in a car accident, a one-car crash nearby. With the joy of her life gone, and little reason to take interest in life again, Mercer's been having a one-woman pity party at home all this time.

But her publisher, Katherine Craft, is Boston Back Bay stubborn, and sees Mercer as the perfect writer to tackle a courtroom story unfolding that week: the trial of Ashlyn Bryant, accused of murdering her own tiny daughter for the sake of more freedom in her skanky life. The little girl's corpse was called Baby Boston when first discovered, in its decomposing anonymity. There's no real doubt about Ashlyn's guilt. The trial will be direct and brutal, though -- and Katherine's offering a chance for Mercer to view the trial by a private line, the type set up for TV stations and other big journalistic enterprises, so she can stay home, see it all, and pound out a full-length book during the trial period, ready to rip into sales within just a few weeks from the "Guilty" verdict being finalized.

Katherine's both a friend and a clever editor, and she sets Mercer up brilliantly, so that the highly depressed writer takes a spark of anger and blows on it:

Kath understands, as much as anyone can. It's unfair for me to take my grief out on her. Is she right? Is there something I can do? ... Yes. I'll do it. To avenge Baby Boston. And I'll secretly dedicate this book to Sophie. To every little girl unfairly wrenched away from the world. The more I think about it, the more I know I can do it. I yearn to do it. ... Plus writing a book beat the options I'd already contemplated.

At first it looks like Kath's scheme will succeed: Mercer is up and at it, researching, pounding out a "true crime" book (with creative dialogue) that will rack up sales like crazy. If, of course, the trial goes as planned.

But when it doesn't, and Kath's idea of book rescue involves Mercer and Ashlyn getting to know each other, very creepy and scary psychological twists pile up rapidly.

Not only is this one of the scariest and most believable thrillers I've handled recently -- cutting very close to the lives of many an author! -- but the suspense is brilliantly paced. And, perhaps even more striking, it appears Ryan has dipped deeply here into her own life, which includes investigative reporting and being married to a criminal defense attorney.

When the book races to its highly satisfying conclusion, astute readers will also believe they know a lot about Hank Phillippi Ryan and her husband, about Boston crime and crime solving, and about the possible redemptive strength from pairing courage with love, and not giving up.

PS:  Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here.

Detroit Crime Fiction Thrives with Jane Haseldine's Third, WORTH KILLING FOR

The full-page ads in major newspaper review sections promote established mystery authors where publishers take little risk. And that's why the crime fiction coming from Kensington isn't showing up in those splashy ads. But this New York publisher now has an overwhelming back list, and an impressive roster of new releases -- with some excellent authors lined up.

Jane Haseldine, who lives in California, worked the crime beat as a journalist (and held political positions) before she transitioned to crime fiction. She comes with life experience, as well as plenty of cold cases in mind. And in Detroit's variegated cityscape of wealth, poverty, empty districts, and uncertain infrastructure, she has the perfect terrain to explore both violence and corruption, those mainstays of dark suspense. Add to this the feisty and often emotional Julia Gooden, crime reporter and victim of the city's inner darkness, and the series leapt into intense action.

In this third book in the series, WORTH KILLING FOR, Julia Gooden would like to think her life is stable -- especially for the sake of her two young sons. Dating a police detective isn't making that stability easy, since she's always juggling the urge for an exclusive advance look at a crime (and her editor's pressure), with a necessary discretion about things she's not supposed to find out ahead of the other reporters.

But there are far worse complications possible, as Julia's past rises up to tear holes in her life, as her detective boyfriend admits he's checked out her long-absent father's record:

"I'm not sure if you knew this already, but your dad served some time."

"I know. I was five. Ben [her brother] told me Duke [their dad] was on a business trip so I wouldn't be upset. But one of the kids on our school bus, his dad was a prison guard and knew that my dad was locked up. The kid told everybody on the bus ride home one day about my dad being a convict, and Ben punched him in the nose. We had to walk the rest of the way because the bus driver kicked Ben off, and I wasn't going to stay on there without him."

"There's a note in your dad's file that he was affiliated with a man named Peter Jonti, a hood who served time at the same prison with Duke. Jonti was younger than your dad, but it looks like he was connected. I did a check, and Jonti got popped again recently, but he's out now and working at a sushi joint downtown ..."

Julia jotted the name of her father's former associate down in pen on the palm of her hand.

"I'll check him out," Julia said. There's one thing that keeps coming back to me about what went down in Sparrow. Before Jameson died, he said Duke took something that didn't belong to him, and when that happened, things got taken from him. He could've meant Ben. I'm certain of it."

That's an urgent problem to solve, because Julia's brother Ben is a cold case -- he's been missing since their childhood. And soon she's sure that Duke, their dad, is back in Detroit, using her as a lightning rod to attract danger while searching for some kind of treasure from the past.

Was Ben kidnapped to punish Duke? Or was his disappearance connected with other cold cases? Or both? Julia's haunted by the notion that Ben might still need to be found. But what she opts to do, and the stones she turns over, create a hazardous situation for her own children -- and add to the risks of her love life.

Great complications, rapid pacing, powerful twists, and the equally haunting terrain of Detroit itself make WORTH KILLING FOR well worth reading. Haseldine's on a roll -- her previous book, Duplicity, also whipped Julia Gooden's reporting life into sharp suspense. This is definitely a series to collect (and you don't need any ginormous newspaper ads to signal it, right?).

PS:  Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here.

Detroit-Area Crime Reporter Julia Gooden in DUPLICITY by Jane Haseldine

DUPLICITY is the second of the Julia Gooden crime novels -- but the first to come my way. Issued as a hardcover by Kensington, it moves author Jane Haseldine onto the "must collect" list. Not only is this gritty and high-tension mystery set in grim and corruptible Detroit, once the nation's "Motor City"; it takes the classic situation of investigative journalist versus crooked justice, and salts it with mob violence and vicious politics.

For Julia Gooden, the job comes first. That makes her a challenging character, when you consider she's also a mom to two small boys -- in fact, almost a single mom, since she's only starting to consider letting her estranged husband back into the family's life.

Her career also pits her directly against her husband David at this moment, as he is the prosecutor taking a mob figure to trial, determined to keep witnesses and testimony secret for as long as possible, to secure the safety of those on the stand. When a rival newspaper picks up details that Julia might have exposed if only she didn't have to be so careful of her husband's position, her own job prospects take a hard blow. But that's nothing compared to the violence and risk ahead, as her efforts to keep her family safe take her behind the crime scenes, into serious conflicts of interest.

Adding yet another layer of suspense and darkness to Julia's life is her past: not just the years when her marriage "worked" but also the childhood crushed by the kidnapping of her brother, who still hasn't been found -- one reason, in fact, that she's kept her "maiden" name despite marrying.

All this comes to a head in a hospital room, as Julia wonders whether David can even hear her trying to encourage him to recover from an act of terror -- and steps into deep trouble through a routine gesture:

She notices a cardboard box containing David's belongings on a stand next to the bed, including his clothing he had carefully selected for big day one of the trial. Julia inspects the items in the box: David's cell phone, wallet, blue suit coat and dress pants, white button-down shirt with the gold stripes she picked for him just hours earlier. ... Julia tucks the box under her arm as Dr. Whitcomb pokes his head inside the door.

"Ms. Gooden, I'm afraid it's time to leave."

Julia leans in close to David and whispers in his ear, "I love you. Fight with all you've got."

What Julia will later find on that significant cell phone shifts the balance in this intense thriller, and will also affect her interactions with a local police detective. Layer after layer, she's got to figure out who around her is trustworthy -- and whose duplicity is going to wound her yet again.

And, oh yes, somehow save her job, if possible.

This is a fast-moving and suspenseful tale, with enjoyable complications and twists throughout. Julia Gooden won't be my favorite character of the month -- I didn't like some of her choices, to the point where I wouldn't actually want her as a friend. But that's OK: I still want to follow her investigations, here and in future books of the series.

I also get the strong impression that Haseldine -- a former crime reporter herself -- is positioned to get steadily stronger in this genre. Worth going along for the ride!

PS:  Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here.