DJ´s krimiblog

Testing

2011-10-18T11:47:00.001+01:00

Lydfil, Strikkeklubben.

New Blog

2011-06-19T16:59:00.000+01:00

As I seem to have lost more than 50 % of my followers in a few weeks, I thought I´d better try to share my new address with you again.

DJ´s krimiblog - now on Wordpress.

And I´d be ever so happy to see more of my old blog friends there.

Moving Day

2011-05-29T13:53:00.001+01:00

After a couple of turbulent weeks, I have had enough of Blogger´s whims.

My new address: djskrimiblog

I hope to see all of you there soon.

Writing News

2011-05-29T10:00:00.032+01:00

First a reminder: you have two days left to participate in my competition. The chances of winning are still fairly good.

May competition (world wide)
Read "Liquorice Twists" and answer three simple questions. Send the answers to do.hu.ja (at) mail.tele.dk before the end of May, and two of you will win an Amazon voucher (£ 5 or $ 8).

a) what is the name of the baby in story no 8, "A Question of Perspective"?
b) which car brand is mentioned in story no 11, "Swept Away"?
c) what is the name of the main character of story no 18, "In the Dark"

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And if you are in the mood for more suspense, you can read my short story "Heather Farm" for free during the launch period (May and June). Plenty of love, ghosts and countryside atmosphere. Enter the coupon code EP59D - and if you like the story, please make my day by spreading the word to your friends.

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Latest Liquorice Twists news

I am happy to tell my writer friends that they were right; Amazon offers a large market, it is often the first place readers search for an ebook, and now I seen had my first sales trickle in there. And while I was in Bristol, Kerrie showed med that I had had my first Amazon review - five stars that made a wonderful day even better:

"This selection of shorts is naughty but in a good way".

And I am glad to see that readers of my latest collection appreciate the story ´Catastrophe´ which was a last-minute addition.

NB: perhaps I should make it clear that I appreciate it very much whenever readers take the time to write a fair and honest review of my stories no matter how many or few stars they give me :)

Vanda Symon, The Ringmaster (2008)

2011-05-28T10:00:00.019+01:00

(German title: Der ungeschminkte Tod. My review of Overkill).

Well, I read the second Sam Shephard mystery from New Zealand in German, but I was afraid that if I only gave you the German title, you would not read my review.

"Rosie, warte!" rief er und beschleunigte seine Schritte. Sie drehte sich um, und mit genugtuung stellte er fest, dass ihr Gesicht anfing zu strahlen, als sie ihn erkannte.

Detective Constable Sam Shephard, who now works in Dunedin, and her colleague, Smithy, are trying to disperse a group of people who demonstrate in front of a circus. Soon, the department have more important things to care about, however, as they find the body of a young woman who has been assaulted and drowned in the river Leith which runs through the Botanic Garden.

But as Sam has offended her superior, DI Johns, quite successfully, she is sent off to deal with the less interesting circus case while everybody else works on the murder. As she is a stubborn and determined woman, and perhaps a bit impulsive, she does her best to worm her way into the murder investigation. New trouble hits the circus, though, and whether Sam wants to or not, she gets deeply involved in the affairs of the circus before she can return to the murder of young Rose-Marie Bateman. and at some time she begins to wonder if the occurrences in the circus are related to the murder.

I enjoyed the story just as much as Vanda´s terrific debut, especially for the character of Sam, a female protagonist of the very best kind. A slight minus, though, because Sam has a tendency to run into dramatic situations on her own. It was not as difficult to read it in German as I had expected, but I won´t pretend I understood each and every detail, and I certainly won´t admit how long it took me to read it in German.

I bought the German e-book myself (because the English version is very difficult to come by), and fortunately I have the next volumes ready on my shelf - in English.

Craig´s review of The Ringmaster (Crime Watch).

Linda Gillard, House of Silence (2011)

2011-05-27T10:00:00.025+01:00

This novel is the British writer´s fourth stand-alone. It is probably more precise to call it gothic romance than mystery.

"I used to wonder if Alfie chose me because I was an orphan and an only child. Was that part of the attraction? I came unencumbered, with no family."

As Gwen Rowland´s mother died from an overdose of drugs some years ago, she is all alone in the world. She falls in love with the actor Alfie Donovan who is her opposite in many ways. He has more family than he cares for at Creake Hall. Four older sisters, an aging mother and a mysterious, yet quite attractive gardener.

Alfie´s mother has written the famous series Tom Dickon Harry, claiming her inspiration was Alfie, her only son. Alfie feels he has lived in the shadows of this fictional character all his life, and even as an adult he finds it very difficult to carve a career for himself as everybody see him as Tom.

Alfie and Gwen are very happy together, though, until Gwen insists on accompanying him when he goes home to Creake Hall for the traditional family Christmas. "... an Elizabethan manor house, a jumble of tall, barley sugar chimneys and crow step gables, red brick walls and a battery of mullioned windows..."

The story is very strong on atmosphere and suspense with a trace of gothic horror and a feeling of being caught in a web permeating the story. It is a very enjoyable read with several intriguing characters though the ending is more romantic than psychologically credible in my opinion. I bought the e-book myself.

Here is an interesting article about Linda Gillard and her ebook.
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Thy´s Day 52

2011-05-26T10:00:00.005+01:00

When I saw Norman´s comment Monday about the flat lands of Denmark, I knew I had to share these pictures with you though I am afraid you cannot really see the depth in them. They are from "Skyum Bjerge", a hilly area not far from our home. (You can click on each photo to enlarge them if you want more details).

CrimeFest 2011

2011-05-25T10:00:00.016+01:00

You know (or hope) you are participating in a crime fiction conference when you hear someone saying:

´... and then I put the poison in his haemorrhoid cream´
´you got to kill people somehow´
´I do like blowing things up´

In two words; my first CrimeFest was absolutely overwhelming! I did take a few photos, but most of the time my husband had the camera. And Saturday, the only day when I had it, the battery went flat rather unexpectedly.

Karen Meek of Euro Crime

As I mentioned the other day, one of the very best experiences was to meet some of my blog friends and get to know them even better. The panels were also very interesting, and it was such a pleasure that the crime writers I have read - and read about - for so long, were so kind and forthcoming. They really seemed to like meeting their readers :)

So apart from Martin Edwards, our walking crime fiction encyclopaedia, whom I mentioned the other day, I had plenty of opportunity to chat with Len Tyler, Christine Poulson, Quentin Bates and Kate Ellis to mention a few.

I wish I could participate every year, but unfortunately May and June are the busiest months of our school year so I won´t win any popularity contests by running off, leaving three days of external examinations to my colleagues again.

Here you see my CrimeFest spoil - I bought the ones by Len Tyler and S.J. Bolton myself, the others are books I won or was given for free.

S is for Silence

2011-05-24T10:00:00.012+01:00

(Taking a short break in the streets of Bristol)

For this week´s alphabet in crime meme, I´ll comment on what the crime writer does not tell us. I was inspired by a very interesting CrimeFest panel where the writers discussed the endings of crime novels, their own as well as those of other writers. Good endings, brilliant endings, disappointing endings - and the endings we will never see because their wives or publishers vetoed them.

I don´t think Rob Kitchin will mind if I tell you that his first crime novel leaves a couple of loose ends. The Rule Book was an impressive debut which I enjoyed very much, and the ending worked very well for me, but there are aspects I hope he will take up in later volumes of his great Colm McEvoy series.

Another trend is mysteries of the kind where we know who committed the crime almost from the beginning. There are wonderful examples of the why dunnit around, but after a very promising beginning, the ending of Louise Doughty´s Honey-Dew was a disappointment for me. I didn´t feel she added enough suspense after the first few chapters so in my opinion she should have structured her story very differently, or kept a few surprices up her sleeve.

Do you prefer endings where everything is nicely wrapped up, or is it okay with you when the author hands you the villain but leaves some - or several - unanswered questions?

Save the Words

2011-05-23T19:09:00.001+01:00

Scatterbrained as I am today I keep telling myself that now I´ll begin that blog round, but I run into one distraction after the other (such as five-star reviews on Amazon).

I just visited Rob Kitchin´s blog and was reminded of "Save The Words". Of course I ran off immediately to salvage some word of my own, and I just had to adopt ´magistricide´ ;)

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NB: for danske læsere - jeg har lige opdaget, at min lille Thy-historie, Entreprenøren, er blevet udgivet på Skrive-Bloggen mens jeg har været væk.

Back home from CrimeFest

2011-05-23T11:28:00.000+01:00

Came home from a wonderful event last night (twenty past one so forgive me if I write sheer rubbish).

CrimeFest in Bristol was absolutely overwhelming.
First of all I met a couple of blog friends, and of course they were just as kind and interesting as I had expected. Norman (Crime Scraps), Kerrie (Mysteries of Paradise) and Karen (EuroCrime), it has been so great to get to know you and spend three-four days together with you. And thank you to Martin Edwards not only for being just as kind and charming as Daniel Kind, but also for winning the pub quiz for us Thursday night. It was a good feeling to participate in my first pub quiz ever - and ´win´ it.

As my husband has been sightseeing in Bristol, I only have a few pictures of the people I met, but I promise to post them later (when I have had time to catch up with life, work and my blog round). If you follow the links to Norman, Karen and Martin´s blogs above, you will see some of us in Bristol, though.

R is for Revenge

2011-05-17T10:00:00.033+01:00

- the alphabet in crime is hosted by Kerrie, Mysteries in Paradise -

A few lines written in between washing & packing.

Revenge is not exactly my favourite crime fiction plot, but when it is done well, the result may be a wonderful pageturner. So I will mention a couple of recent reviews where revenge is part of the plot, but without going into detail because it is quite easy to spoil such a story for those of you who have not read it yet.

First, I´ll highlight Jussi Adler-Olsen´s Mercy (UK title) or The Keeper of Lost Causes (US). I re-read the first Carl Mørck story in English earlier this month because I was curious about the English translation. Here a dramatic event acts like a catalyst many years later.

Second, I reviewed Martin Edwards´ standalone, Take My Breath Away as my first May book. Apparently a woman returns from the dead, bent on revenge. There is much else to this story, but the urge to get even is one of the pieces of the puzzle.

What is your favourite story that includes an element of revenge?

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Writer´s news:

I created an author´s page on Amazon the other day. While I am writing this, my short biography and two of my works are visible, and "Candied Crime" should also be on the way. So for those of you who prefer shopping via Amazon.com, it is now possible. But I recommend that you check the price. Mobi for Kindle is also available from Smashwords, and their VAT-free version may be cheaper for some of you.

"Liquorice Twists" should also be available via Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo, Apple and Diesel in a week or two.
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Neil Gaiman, Coraline (2002)

2011-05-16T10:00:00.016+01:00

Today I am visiting Kelly of Kelly´s Thoughts & Ramblings. Kelly and I will be ever so pleased if you peep in to say hello, and perhaps some of you also want to know why the vicar´s wife writes crime fiction.

This British fantasy is brilliantly illustrated by Dave McKean. I only read Coraline because I needed some fantasy for a challenge (Bogudfordringen 2011), but I enjoyed it very much.

Once you realize Coraline is a little school girl and neither the teenager she looks like on the cover nor the tiny midget she sounds like, the story works very well.

"Something moved. It was little more than a shadow, and it scuttled down the darkened hall fast, like a little patch of night."

Coraline and her family move into a new flat in a mysterious house. One rainy day when she is bored, she finds the door which leads to nowhere. Her mother does not lock the door afterwards, and of course you know immediately that this was very unwise of her. The next time Coraline tries the door, it suddenly leads to somewhere - a flat which looks deceptively like her own, but where everything is just a bit different.

And in this other world Coraline realizes she need all her courage and determination in order to change things back so she can return to her ordinary life which suddenly seems incredibly appealing.

I bought the Kindle version myself, and if you like fantasy/fairy tales, this one is strongly recommended.

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NB: I know I should be in touch with a few of you who have also invited me to guest blog, but that will have to wait until I have come to my senses after CrimeFest.

DJ Light

2011-05-14T10:00:00.004+01:00

- just came home from the hairdresser, considerably lighter (eh, greyer) than before -

As Blogger has played so many tricks recently, most of you had no chance to notice my guest post yesterday so here is the link once again.

For several reasons you may expect irregular posting and visits from me over the next month or two.
First, I am running off to Bristol to CrimeFest from Wednesday to Sunday, and afterwards the exam period begins. Besides, I have my family and my unreliable health to consider.

Liquorice Twists Launch

Notes to myself:
- don´t launch on a Sunday which is often the quietest blog day
- add more ghosts; my readers seem to like them

What else?
I am testing the possibilities of Amazon, but as I have had a few technical glitches, I have only published "Heather farm" there yet. The price I set is 99 cents so if Amazon wants more than that (e.g. from Scandinavian customers), I recommend that you go to Smashwords instead. Because they are a minor company, they are not forced to add VAT.

Finally a reminder: there is still plenty of time to participate in my competition or download "Heather Farm" for free (Smashwords coupon: EP 59D).

Giles Blunt, The Fields of Grief (2006)

2011-05-13T18:44:00.001+01:00

[I should have been guest blogging on Thoughts in Progress today, but with Blogger gone awry I don´t know when the post will be up.]

This Canadian police procedural is the fourth John Cardinal story, but the first I have read by this author. See my teaser.

Though I found the story interesting and appealing, it was hard to read as it begins with the death of Catherine Cardinal, John´s beloved wife, who suffered from very severe depressions and is supposed to have committed suicide. The description of his grief and his self-reproach are very realistic, meaning that the story made a great impact.

Besides, there is a story about child abuse. Always a tough theme, but Blunt never goes into uncanny details so for me the theme of depression was harder to handle.

Soon John Cardinal begins to wonder if Catherine really did take her own life, but even though Lise Delorme, a close colleague and friend, offer him some support, the main reaction is that it is just Cardinal´s unwillingness to accept his wife´s suicide.

My overall impression: a really fine mystery with great characters and a fine sense of place. I bought the book myself, and Giles Blunt has gone on the list.

Thy´s Day # 51

2011-05-13T17:50:00.002+01:00

Sorry for the inconvenience Blogger has caused my readers. Hope it is back to normal service again.

Don´t leave your bedroom window open - enemies may sneak in -

and they are much faster than you´d imagine.

A Teaser

2011-05-11T10:00:00.003+01:00

I have not had a bait-in-the-box post for some time, mostly because it is quite difficult to choose books that are neither too new nor too old. But even though you haven´t read this one, I am sure many of you can guess where it takes place.

So let´s play - where, when, what is this? Written by whom?

"Nothing bad could ever happen on Madonna Road. It curls around the western shore of a small lake just outside Algonquin Bay, Ontario, providing a pine-scented refuge for affluent families with young children, yuppies fond of canoes and kayaks, and an artful population of chipmunks chased by galumphing dogs. It´s the kind of spot - tranquil, shady and secluded - that promises an exemption from tragedy and sorrow."

Q is for Quest

2011-05-10T10:00:00.036+01:00

[The alphabet in crime meme is hosted by Kerrie]

I suppose you could say most crime fiction is about a quest, yet the feeling is much stronger in some stories than in others. Today, I have selected three (or four) novels for you, in which children are on a quest.

My first example is Alan Bradley´s "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie". Here eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce stumbles on a body among the cucumbers. Soon she realizes that the police suspect her kind, yet somewhat absent-minded father. Flavia knows he is too impractical to be able to save himself so she embarks on a quest to find the real murderer.

In "Blacklands", Belinda Bauer´s dark but excellent debut, young Steven knows he has to find the remains of his murdered uncle. A black shadow has haunted the whole family ever since Billy disappeared nearly twenty years ago, but Steven is certain that once he has found the body, his mother and grandmother will get some kind of closure and be able to get on with their lives.

In James W. Nichol´s "Midnight Cab" the main character is grown-up, but only just. Walker leaves his adopted family as soon as possible, not because he doesn´t love them but because he must find the mother who left him by the road when he was only three years old. Knowing about his past is such an important part of his identity that he risks everything to find the truth.

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Two-Sentence Tuesday

[Hosted by Women of Mystery]

Three brilliant stories, all strongly recommended, and here you have a bit from my own "Crystal Nights", a Danish novel I am currently editing & translating into English. As I told you Friday, I received a rejection last week, but I have tried to tackle it as well as I could - by writing. The main part of the story is set in the 1960s and deals with a loyal and determined boy´s quest to find his best friend.

- Sonja Jensen left her flat Wednesday morning to go to work in Hjørring, and since then no one has seen ten-year-old Lars-Ole Jensen. Mrs Nielsen in the flat downstairs believes she heard him leave around ten o´clock, but more than forty-eight hours have gone so every minute counts. Holst paused to let the message sink in.

What is your favourite crime story or thriller which includes a quest?

Deborah Crombie, Leave the Grave Green (1995)

2011-05-09T10:00:00.008+01:00

OBS: at some point today (when the Americans are up and about) I´ll be visiting Margot Kinberg´s brilliant blog, Confessions of a Mystery Novelist as part of my "Liquorice Twist" launch. If you pop over and say hello, Margot and I will be so happy!

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This American novel is the third police procedural featuring Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James from Scotland Yard.

"He´d fallen in, landing on his back with his arms and legs splayed awkwardly ´It´s cold,´ he said, his face registering surprise. He scrabbled towards the bank, laughing, shaking the water from his eyes."

Twelve-year-old Matthew has not even realized yet that he is going to drown, but tragedy hits the family of Sir Gerald Asherton, the conductor, and his wife, the soprano Dame Caroline Stowe when they lose their prodigy. And twenty years later they are struck again when their son-in-law Connor Swann drowns - also in the Thames.

As the police are not sure Swann´s death was an accident, Thames Valley CID call in Inspector Duncan Kincaid and Sergeant Gemma James to take a closer look at the circumstances. And no matter what Sir Asherton and his wife say, Connor Swann does not seem to be universally liked - not even by his own wife, the somewhat capricious Julia, who left him a year ago.

An entertaining and fairly cosy mystery with plenty of British atmosphere, including high tea and scones.

I bought the book myself, and Crombie will be on my radar from now on.

Liquorice Twists - Launch Party

2011-05-08T10:00:00.038+01:00

Cover art: Elisabeth & Dorte Hummelshøj Jakobsen.

Today is the official launch day of my

second volume of Daim Stories, Liquorice Twists.

Please share a virtual glass of champagne with me, dear readers!

Contrary to my happy-go-lucky launch of "Candied Crime" in February, I have done my best to create a suitable cover (assisted by my youngest who is deft at making those slipknots), test the content and the technical aspects of the book beforehand and plan a few guest blog posts.

I have selected twenty flash fiction stories for you this time, only half as funny but definitely twice as chilling as volume I, and ten of them have never been published on my blog. According to one of my beta-readers they are ´nasty in a good way´. So now there is nothing for it but to send my tiny stories out in the world to fend for themselves.

The first stops on my blog tour will be tomorrow on Margot´s delicious blog, Confessions of a Mystery Novelist.

May competition (world wide)
A launch surely calls for a competition. Buy "Liquorice Twists" and answer three simple questions. Send the answers to do.hu.ja (at) mail.tele.dk before the end of May, and two of you will win an Amazon voucher (£ 5 or $ 8).

a) what is the name of the baby in story no 8, "A Question of Perspective"?
b) which car brand is mentioned in story no 11, "Swept Away"?
c) what is the name of the main character of story no 18, "In the Dark"?

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And if you are in the mood for more suspense, you can read my short story "Heather Farm" for free during the launch period (May and June). Plenty of love, ghosts and countryside atmosphere. Enter the coupon code EP59D - and if you like the story, please make my day by spreading the word to your friends.
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That sinking feeling

2011-05-07T10:00:00.005+01:00

Self-pity - the murky monster

The other day it happened again.

"Thank you for your submission to xxxxx. I regret to inform you that we are unable to use it at this time."

It is far from my first rejection, and it will not be the last one either. It does not leave me quite as devastated as the first ones, yet I do get grumpy or dejected for a day or two, depending on how important the submission was. And it would have been really nice to tell my readers I had sold a story right now - just to prove that I am not only a self-publishing writer.

Well, they have a point (the ending being too abrupt), and that is why agents and editors come in handy, I suppose. They have that distance to your work which you can never achieve yourself. So now that they have showed me the flaw, I may have a better story for you at some other time.

And in the meantime, let me prop up my self-esteem a little bit:

The opening paragraph is wonderful -- compact and developing. I also liked the progression of the piece in its structure and believability of interactions. ... The descriptions are well written.

So perhaps I should just find someone who is a better ´plotter´ and become a brilliant ghost writer? :)

If you are a writer, how do you handle rejections?

Jussi Adler-Olsen, The Keeper of Lost Causes (2011)

2011-05-06T10:00:00.007+01:00

I enjoyed the first volume of this series very much when I read it in Danish a couple of years ago (Kvinden i buret, 2007), and it is a pleasure to see that my countryman is on his way to the USA as well as the UK (under the title of Mercy). No matter what it is called, this is a fine debut, and you have something to look forward to as the next volumes in the series are even better!

"She scratched her fingertips on the smooth walls until they bled, and pounded her fists on the thick panes until she could no longer feel her hands. At least ten times she had fumbled her way to the steel door and stuck her fingernails in the crack to try to pry it open, but the door could not be budged, and the edge was sharp."

The woman in the dark keeps fighting to get out, determined not to let her captors win by breaking down.

After this meeting with the captured woman we are introduced to the protagonist Carl Mørck, recently scarred by a gunshot, but perhaps his internal wounds are worse. Earlier he was a dedicated criminal investigator from Jutland, but after his colleague Hardy was hospitalized and their third mate Anker was killed, Mørck has turned into a somewhat reluctant detective.

In between the scenes from a police perspective, we meet Merete Lynggaard, vice chairperson for the Social Democrats, a very secretive politician, who disappears during a trip on a ferry.

As Carl Mørck has grown ´lazy, surly, morose´ and hopeless to work with, his superiors decide to solve their problem by ´promoting´ him. They appoint him the leader of the new Department Q, a kind of cold-case unit, and equip him with a dark office in the basement. When Mørck grows tired of solving Sudoku and insists on having a couple of men he can boss around, they send him Hafez al-Assad. It seems as if Assad has not quite realized his role is to brew coffee and sweep the floors, but not a word more about one of my favourite sidekicks.

The story offers a nice touch of humour, interesting characters, and a find and exciting plot.
My example was a free review copy from NetGalley, published by the Penguin Group and expertly translated by Tiina Nunnally.

Also reviewed today by Kerrie, Mysteries in Paradise.

Thy´s Day # 50

2011-05-05T10:00:00.018+01:00

To celebrate my 50th Thy´s Day (and my daughter´s birthday)

I will share with you our darling buds of May.

A Few Steps Forward

2011-05-04T10:00:00.031+01:00

I have not written much about my challenges lately so perhaps it is time for a progress report.

First, the Danish challenge "Bogudfordringen 2011".
January - crime before 2000.
February - short stories
March - female Danish writers
April - books from the 1800s.

So far, no problems, but May is fantasy month. I bought Neil Gaiman´s Coraline the other day, hoping it would be to my taste.

Second, the 2011 Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge
I finished this challenge last week, and I really enjoyed reading a couple of books and stories I would not have chosen otherwise.
Margery Allingham, Hide Your Eyes (British 1958)
John Buchan, The Thirty-Nine Steps (Scottish – 1915)
Palle Rosenkrantz, Hvad skovsøen gemte (Danish - 1903)
Blicher, The Rector of Vejlby (Kindle - 3 Danish short stories, 19th century)
Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Lady Audley´s Secret (British – 1862)
Arne Magnussen, Den vidtudråbte besættelse i Thisted (Danish - 1699/1891)

Third, Ireland Reading Challenge
Five books read, one to go. And my, this challenge has been a pleasure. Five great reads, all strongly recommended.

Declan Burke, The Big O (2007)
Tana French, The Likeness (2008)
Brian McGilloway, Gallows Lane (2008)
Colin Bateman, Mystery Man (2009)
Jane Casey, The Burning (2010)

For my last challenges I will keep you updated when I have news for you.

P is for Prison

2011-05-03T10:00:00.025+01:00

- thank you to Kerrie, Mystery of Paradise, for hosting the alphabet in crime meme -

While most traditional crime novels end when the criminal is apprehended, perhaps sentenced to prison, some thrillers include long sections where we follow an inmate of a prison, or where a character has just been released from prison.

In Belinda Bauer´s Blacklands, we meet Arnold Avery, the paedophile murderer who has already spent several years in Dartmoor Prison. Avery´s way of handling life is prison is being the model prisoner, keeping to himself and doing what he can to achieve an early release. Another aspect of the book is the powerful psychiatrist and his importance for the prisoner´s chances of being released.

In Gretelise Holm´s Møgkællinger, Jonas Kamper goes to prison for a murder he claims he did not commit. For the good-looking and charming teacher it is a shock to realize that there are prison warders who just do not like him and are ready to abuse their power if he breaks any of their unwritten rules.

In Simon Brett´s The Witness at the Wedding (to be reviewed later), Michael Brewer is released after thirty years in prison. In this story an important theme is what happens when someone returns to society after having been locked up for so many years.

A similar plot can be found in Brian McGilloway´s Gallows Lane which begins when James Kerr is released from prison. Inspector Benedict Devling is told to keep an eye on the ex-con to find out if he really found Jesus or if he is bent on revenge.

What is your favourite thriller about life in prison?

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Martin Edwards, Take My Breath Away (2002)

2011-05-02T10:00:00.013+01:00

This British legal mystery is a stand-alone which will be published in the USA in July. It is set in London.

"The dead woman smiled. So far, so good."

Nic Gabriel, the writer of a true crime story about Crippen, is somewhat surprised when he meets Ella Vinton at a party in a friend´s flat as ´a stone in a Sussex graveyard bore her name´.

The woman seems to be very much alive, though, and before the party is over, she has killed Dylan Rees, the host and the man who was supposed to be the reason that Ella committed suicide five years earlier. And Dylan´s last words are just as mysterious: "Why not jazz?"

Nic Gabriel feels he should have been able to prevent the woman from stabbing his friends right in front of him so he decides to look into the background of Dylan´s death. His search leads him to the high-profile human rights law firm Creed, and to their new paralegal Roxanne Wake. She is sure she has finally landed her dream job, but for some reason she has omitted to tell her bosses that Roxanne is not her real name.

Apparently, most characters in this story have skeletons in their closets which they are very keen to keep in place. As a reader you assume that Dylan´s death and Roxanne´s story will be connected at some point, but you do not know how or why. And do we really get the full truth of this finely plotted mystery?

A fine mystery with a very apt title which offers an insight into the life of lawyers, but hopefully they are not all as devious as the book makes you think.

I bought the book myself, and this cover is from my British edition of the book.

The Notice Board

2011-05-01T10:00:00.030+01:00

This week´s notice bord post was sent to me by the Danish crime writer Kim Jørgensen. Unfortunately the book has not been translated into English.

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DEN RØDE BOOMERANG

– af Kim Jørgensen

Min nye krimi er inspireret af virkelighedens mange samvittighedsløse personer, der får spalteplads i medierne. Har vi ikke ofte tænkt, at nogle slipper for let fra deres forbrydelser, mens deres ofre må lide? I "Den røde boomerang" gav jeg mig selv chancen for at rette op på dette misforhold.

Hovedpersonen er en magtsyg byggematador, Klaus Winther. Hans opvækst var præget af en streng far, der ikke skyede nogen midler for at nå sine selviske mål, selvom det betød, at han trådte på alt og alle. Han lærte sin søn at gå lige til stregen og gerne lidt over, hvis det kunne gøres inden for lovens rammer.

Klaus Winther fandt hurtigt ud af, at det var svært at følge sin fars råd. Han kunne sagtens undgå at forbryde sig mod loven, samtidig med at han forbrød sig groft mod sin samvittighed. Men da han først havde slidt sin samvittighed rund, var det nærliggende at foretage sig noget ulovligt, hvis det var det mindste påkrævet. Det gjaldt blot om at skjule sine ulovligheder.

Ved at følge denne farlige opskrift er Klaus Winther efterhånden kommet så langt ud, at han end ikke viger tilbage for mord.

Historien tager sin begyndelse en mørk og iskold vinteraften, hvor to mænd mødes i hemmelighed på et øde sted for at finde en løsning på et fælles problem – men mødet får katastrofale følger.

Du kan læse anmeldelser af bogen her:

Bogsyn.dk - Den røde boomerang

Litteratursiden - Den røde boomerang

Bogen kan lånes på biblioteket eller købes bl.a. på Forlaget Facets hjemmeside. Her kan du også læse de første tre kapitler.
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Final cover: Liquorice Twists

2011-04-29T10:00:00.020+01:00

I won´t even tell you how many pictures I have taken, or how much liquorice I have consumed during the process, but here it is - the final cover of Liquorice Twists.

Thanks to my wonderful beta-readers I am also confident that the sixth edition is in fairly good state so now I´ll ´just´ have to plan a blog-tour and prepare some brilliant guest posts. That should be a piece of liquorice, eh? I have received some invitations to visit blogs, but I think I can manage a few more if ...

And the big launch day? Hm, first half of May, hopefully.

Thy´s Day # 49

2011-04-28T10:00:00.002+01:00

The fragile-looking anemone is one of my favourite spring flowers,

and what could be prettier than a whole carpet of them?

Arne Magnussen, Den vidtudraabte besættelse i Thisted (1699/1891)

2011-04-27T10:00:00.010+01:00

[This is a Danish account of the last witch trial in Denmark. The witches and their ´victims´ lived in my region, Thy, which aroused my curiosity. Unfortunately this interesting book has not been translated. I read the free e-book for the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge # 6]

Denne forholdsvis korte bog handler om en hekseproces i Thisted, ifølge indledningen den tids kriminallitteratur, men også "et Billede af Livet i en afsidesliggende, dansk Provinsby i Slutningen af Kristian den femtes Regeringstid..."

Det hele begyndte da "en Bondepige i Jylland udi Vendsyssel i Aalborg Stift ved navn Maren Spillemands" som trettenårig blev syg med epilepsi-lignende symptomer. Familien henvendte sig til flere forsellige præster i området, men de var ikke meget for at afgøre, om det drejede sig om fysisk sygdom eller en besættelse. Derfor henvender familien sig til den ansete præst i Thisted, Magister Oluf Bjørn.

Magisteren når frem til, at pigen er blevet forhekset af "en gammel Bondekone der i Nærværelsen ved Navn Anne Kristens Datter i Skinderup, som deromkring holdtes for at være en Troldkone", og nidkært begynder han at søge efter andre personer, som kunne være besatte.

"Imidlertid haver man intet synderligt fornummet til hendes Syge førend siden i Januario 1696, da Mag. Oluf erklærede hende offentlig for alle, at hun af Djævelen legemlig var besat."

Og herefter går det løs; magister Olufs studenter kaster sig ind i jagten på hekse og onde ånder, og de finder snart en ånd, som erklærer, at "hvis Amtmanden ikke vilde lade dennem brænde, vilde de fare baade i hannem og alle hans børn."

Gamle Anne Kristensdatter bliver ført til Thisted, og sagen kommer biskoppen for øre. Jens Bircherods dagbogsnotater udgør en del af bogen, og mens han understreger, at kvinderne skal for en læge, er Mag. Oluf ivrig "for at faa en skarp Inkvisition sat i Værk efter Troldkoner..." Men underligt nok glemmer han alt om lægeundersøgelsen.

Jeg skal ikke røbe mere om den interessante og letlæste beretning om sagen, som til sidst kommer for kongens højesteret, bare fremhæve, at en lang række mennesker, inklusive lokale præster, forsøgte at tale Magister Oluf imod. En æra af retsløshed og forfølgelse af kvinder, som skiller sig ud, er ved at være slut.
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Two-Sentence Tuesday

2011-04-26T10:00:00.001+01:00

Here is a teaser from my current read. It is far from the first time I am reading a novel by the British writer Martin Edwards, and I know you will enjoy the first two sentences as much as I did:

"The dead woman smiled. So far, so good."

And here is a taste of my own work, Crystal Nights.

"Though Morten Haugaard did not like to interfere, Niels had made him feel vaguely uneasy. Niels was only ten, but he was a clever boy, and if the said Lars-Ole was not at home, he was probably right."

Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Lady Audley´s Secret (1862)

2011-04-25T14:00:00.001+01:00

This British novel is a combination of mystery and romance. It is not the writer´s first work, but the story that made her rich and famous. According to Wikipedia, her own life was quite adventurous (warning: the article sums up the full plot).

"The house faced the arch, and occupied three sides of a quadrangle. It was very old, and very irregular and rambling. The windows were uneven; some small, some large, some with heavy stone mullions and rich stained glass; others with frail lattices that rattled in every breeze; others so modern that they might have been added only yesterday."

Not uncommon for the Victorian novel, there are several pages of description - the setting, the house, the characters - before we get to the actual story. Sir Michael Audley, the owner of Audley Court, has remarried recently. Pretty, blonde and blue-eyed Lucy Graham is much younger than her wealthy spouse. Despite her youth and beauty, she has a few skeletons in the cupboard.

Sir Michael is in the seventh heaven but his somewhat spoilt daughter Alicia dislikes her merry, childlike stepmother from the beginning. His nephew, the barrister Robert Audley, is taken by her beauty at first, but when his close friend Robert Talboys disappears, he begins to suspect that Lady Audley may be involved.

The plot involves bigamy, deceit, conspiracy, a court case and a discerning dog, to mention just a few pieces of the intricate puzzle. Modern readers may not be impressed by Robert Audley´s somewhat slow detective work (or the slow pace of the book); yet you will probably appreciate these words of his:

"Circumstantial evidence... that wonderful fabric which is built out of straws collected at every point of the compass, and which is yet strong enough to hang a man."

The sensational story was inspired by the true Constance Kent case in 1860. There is plenty of drama and atmosphere, but perhaps not much realism.

My review of "The Suspicions of Mr Whicher", a non-fictional account of the Constance Kent case.

I read this free e-book for the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge # 5 + Bogudfordringen 2011 (novels from the 1800s).
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Happy Easter

2011-04-24T16:30:00.000+01:00

Actually I had decided not to blog today as my mother is here, and we are not only celebrating Easter, but also my daughter´s birthday. But these days even my mother spends much of her time getting the knack of Facebook so writing a blog post seems more polite than reading a book :)

So let me wish everybody a Happy Easter - we have had a marvelous service in our beautiful, old church.

And now that I am here, I´ll also take the opportunity to tell you that I just published my romantic ghost story "Heather Farm" via Smashwords this morning. If you liked the story when I published it on my blog in September and want to make me very happy by giving the story a few stars, you can send me an e-mail and ask for a free coupon.

Falling Off Stairs

2011-04-23T10:00:00.011+01:00

See my review of Falling Off Air.

As Robin Ballantyne´s older sister Lorna suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), this illness is one of the themes of the book. It is not that relevant for the plot, still it made me think.

"Lorna´s room is the most peaceful place I know. That night she had chamber music playing softly and the lights were dimmed. She glanced over as I entered, but she said nothing. She was lying on her bed. By this point in the day she is usually exhausted, but even when she sleeps the quality of her rest is poor.

´You don´t feel like joining us?´ I asked gently. She smiled and shook her head of red curls, gesturing that I should leave her plate on the table by her bed.

´Busy day,´ she said softly. Her voice was a contralto, surprisingly vibrant coming from her weary body.

Often, we would eat together. Once the most sociable of people, Lorna´s instinct was still to seek out human contact even if it drained her of the last ounce of energy, which it always did. A year earlier, when the CFS was at its worst, I´d sometimes had to carry her to bed..."

Of course I was interested, but I can´t say I identified with Lorna. First, my health is so much better that I am able to work part time. Second, I have never felt depressed because of my illness. Crisis and problems in my family may get to me, but while it keeps annoying me that there are many things I cannot do any more, I have been able to look around me, thinking "what can I do then?" [Blog, read and write crime fiction, obviously]

Generally, the description of Lorna seems credible, but it is not my impression that CFS prevents anyone from walking up and down stairs (when they are up and about, I mean). The problem is that a few trips up and down may make you feel you have tried running a marathon without training first for several days.

Catherine Sampson, Falling Off Air (2004)

2011-04-22T10:00:00.010+01:00

This British novel is the first Robin Ballantyne story and Sampson´s debut as a writer of fiction.

"I am about to pull the curtains and shut out the weather when, at the margin of my vision, a woman falls out of the sky. I do not see how it began. All I see is that she falls, feet first but tipping forward, arms stretched out as if to break her fall, her clothes as chaotically twisted and tossed as the rain, and the weight of her body carrying her down through the currents of air straight to the earth like an anchor."

Robin hears a heated argument, and shortly after, a woman falls past her window and hits the street below. Robin is the single mother of the baby twins Hannah and William, but after this shocking experience, the renewed contact with the buzzing media world makes her yearn for her career as a journalist.

Soon after Robin´s ex-boyfriend Adam, the twins´ biological father, is killed by a hit-and-run driver - in Robin´s car. The police appear on her doorstep, and in the course of a few days it is apparent that the title applies to Robin as well as to her late neighbour.

Though I don´t really regard the everything-whirling-out-of-control plot as very plausible, this was a well-written and exciting story that I sped through in one day. Furthermore, Robin Ballantine is an intelligent and interesting character I am looking forward to meeting again.

I bought the book myself, and it may not take long until I grab the second volume which is ready on that TBR.

Thy´s Day # 48

2011-04-21T10:00:00.007+01:00

I know I have told you this before, but for the benefit of new readers

- in Denmark daffodils are called Easter lilies

so nothing could be more appropriate for Thy´s day this week.

Jane Casey, The Burning (2010)

2011-04-20T10:00:00.010+01:00

This novel is the Irish writer´s second thriller; a stand-alone which is set in London. My review of The Missing.

Young Kelly Staples has been looking forward to a night out, but a couple of hours later she finds herself in the loo, very drunk and wondering why she wasn´t smart enough to leave together with her friends. A kind gentleman offers to drive her home, though.

Kelly is not as easy a victim as she seemed, and she knows a serial killer is around so after a few pages it seems that the killer is apprehended. But while D.C. Maeve Kerrigan is talking to Kelly, the police find a fifth victim, Rebecca Haworth.

Despite the serial-killer label, this novel is not the tacky introspection of some gruesome psychopath. After the first chapters, we follow Louise North, Rebecca´s close friend, who seems curiously preoccupied by Rebecca´s life, and D.C. Maeve Kerrigan who struggles to solve these atrocious crimes against women. Besides, she is the victim of sexual harassment at work and personal problems with her yuppie boyfriend, so Kerrigan has her hands full. The stubborn Irishwoman trusts her instincts and her intelligence, however, and proves her worth on more than one front.

I bought the book myself, and Jane Casey´s third book looms high on my wish list.

Ireland Reading challenge # 5.

Two-Sentence Tuesday

2011-04-19T10:00:00.007+01:00

Two-sentence Tuesday is hosted by Women of Mystery

Today I will share a teaser with you from my current read, a classical crime-cum-romance story (or vice versa):

"There was not much in it; neither gold nor gems; only a baby´s little worsted shoe rolled up in a piece of paper, and a tiny lock of pale and silky yellow hair, evidently taken from a baby´s head."

Not bad, eh?

And a couple of sentences from my own work "Crystal Night" - back to school in the company of Niels:

Niels glanced at the empty chair next to him, wondering when the history lesson would end. If only Mr Petersen would allow them to talk about the American space programme and the astronauts of the Cape Kennedy base instead of German history.
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O is for Order

2011-04-18T07:59:00.000+01:00

- for the alphabet in crime meme -

I know that several of you agree with me that engaging, credible characters are what make you read one volume after the other year after year once you have stumbled on a new crime series.

Now there are different crime genres, but have you thought about the similarities between the structure of a traditional crime novel and a Renaissance drama?

A serious crime takes place, most often a murder, and the structured, predictable world of the bereaved falls apart. The police or detectives appear on stage, and over a couple of hundred pages they solve the crime. Order is restored, the relatives achieve a feeling of closure, and the reader can relax in her comfortable armchair.

Which genre do you prefer? The traditional (conservative) mystery or the darker thriller which may seem more realistic, and where you don´t quite know which kind of ending to expect?

Personally, I like varying my reading, but I don´t necessarily buy the idea that modern, fast-paced crime novels convey a more real picture of our society. The darker setting and the brutality may be true of many places of the world, but not the tendency to escalate the number of bodies or the spectacular endings that are in vogue nowadays. Crime fiction is just fiction, a few hours of entertainment or escapism, and though some questions may be left open, I am sure most readers want to know who, how and why.

Yrsa Sigurdardottir, Aske (2009)

2011-04-17T12:00:00.000+01:00

Denne islandske spændingsroman er den tredje i serien om Thóra Gudmundsdóttir.

En prolog bruges somme tider til at sløre, at der ikke sker så meget i de første kapitler, men i Aske lægger forfatteren ud med et voldsomt mord. I kapitel et er der yderligere spænding plus en regulær cliff-hanger, og i kapitel to ruller hovederne for alvor. Læseren bliver fanget fra første side, men til trods for alvoren er der en dejlig, ironisk tone over sagføreren Thóra Gudmundsdóttir og hendes undersøgelse af den usædvanlige sag.

En kort præsentation af det spegede plot: Thóra repræsenterer Markús, en klient som insisterer på at få adgang til sit barndomshjem i Vestmanna, før arkæologer giver sig til at kortlægge ´Nordens Pompei´ efter vulkanudbruddet i 1973. Han får lov at fjerne en kasse fra kælderen, men da Thóra, Markús og arkæologen omsider står i huset, opstår en uventet komplikation: ud over det menneskehoved, Markús havde håbet på at smugle ud, ligger der ligene af tre mænd. Så nu er hans eneste chance, at barndomsveninden Alda vil bekræfte, at hun bad ham om at opbevare kassen, da alle indbyggerne måtte flygte fra Vestmanna.

Denne roman på fire hundrede sider føles meget kortere, fordi Thóra som sædvanlig flyver af sted i højt gear, travlt optaget af sin sag og sit komplicerede privatliv med børn, svigerdatter og barnebarn. Der er ikke meget tid til hendes langdistancekæreste Matthew denne gang, men da han overvejer at flytte til Island, hører vi måske mere til ham i fremtiden. Til gengæld træder advokatkontorets umulige sekretær, Bella, mere i karakter denne gang som en person, der har andet end tværhed og sit kiksede udseende at byde på.

Jeg kunne lide forfatterens debut, jeg var begejstret for tooeren, og treeren er ikke bare hæsblæsende spændende - den giver også et fascinerende indblik i følgerne af vulkanudbruddet i 1973, en naturkatastrofe som på fornemste vis væves sammen med et kompliceret krimiplot. Fem-stjernet spænding, lånt på biblioteket.

Yrsa Sigurdardottir, Ashes to Dust (2010).
This Icelandic thriller is the third story about the lawyer Thóra Gudmundsdottir.

Sometimes a prologue is used to hide the fact that nothing much happens in the first chapters, but here the author serves up a violent murder, followed by escalating excitement in the first chapter, and in the second chapter heads begin to roll quite literally. The reader is captured from page one, but despite the serious and unusual case, there is a fine, ironic tone and not nearly as much gore as one might fear.

A short introduction to the intricate plot: Thóra is hired by Markús, a client who insists on getting access to his childhood home in Vestmanna before the archaeologists begin to map the Nordic Pompeii after the volcano eruption in 1973. He is allowed to remove a box from the basement, but when Thóra, Markús and the archaeologist can finally enter the house, an unexpected complication arises. Apart from the human head Markús had hoped to smuggle out, he finds the bodies of three men on the floor. Now his only hope is that his childhood friend Alda will confirm that she asked him to store the box for him when everybody had to escape from Vestmanna in the middle of the night.

This novel of four hundred pages felt considerably shorter because Thóra darts off at maximum speed, busy with her case and her complicated private menagerie with children, daughter-in-law and grandchild. There is not much time left for her long-distance relationship with the German Matthew in this volume, but as he is considering moving to Iceland, we may hear more of him in the future. Thóra´s hopeless secretary, Bella, plays a more central role this time, however, and we begin to see her as more than just a snarky failure.

I liked Yrsa Sigurdardottir´s debut, I enjoyed the second very much, and the third one is not only a fast-paced thriller - it also offers a fascinating insight into the consequences of the volcano eruption. Five-star excitement!

I borrowed the book in the local library.
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WeekEnd

2011-04-16T09:29:00.001+01:00

A few Easter holidays to look forward to so what are my plans? (Apart from all our wonderful family hullabaloo which comes first and tends to swallow most of my time and energy anyway).

Well, as soon as I have marked 25 essays, my first priority is sending queries off to a few literary agents (eh, first priority does not necessarily mean I will get it done first, only that I know I should). They are all based in the USA, as this seems to be the best place for cosy mysteries.

Second, I hope I will be able to work on my historical novel, "Crystal Nights" for a couple of days. I have edited/translated less than 8,000 words so the first draft is not exactly round the corner, but hopefully some time this year...

Third, I expect I will be ready to publish "Liquorice Twists" in May or June (a collection of twenty flash fiction stories, darker than "Candied Crime", but hardly nightmare material though).

As my somewhat haphazard publication of "Candied Crime" has proved, my amazingly loyal blog friends are so much better at getting my stuff out there than I am, so I think a regular blog tour would be an excellent idea (in other words, invitations will be very much appreciated).
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Sophie Hannah, Hurting Distance (2007)

2011-04-15T10:00:00.005+01:00

This thriller is the Scottish poet and writer´s seventh novel.

Though Naomi Jenkins only gets three hours a week together with her lover, she feels happy and expectant, certain Robert will leave his wife soon and begin a new life together with her. One night he does not turn up for their meeting, and of course the police do not take her concern very seriously. Naomi persuades them to ask his wife, but as Juliet tells them he is on a holiday with some friends, Naomi must do something to make it important for them to find him.

The strong points of the story: a well-wrought, exciting plot. I also liked the theme of women and how differently they handle disasters such as humiliation, rape and abuse, and the main character Naomi Jenkins who is the first-person narrator of several sections.

A minus: the police officers waste a lot of time pestering each other like spoilt school children and behaving unprofessionally in several ways. It may be intended as humour or caricature, but if so, it did not strike me as very funny.

I think Maxine sent the book to me. If not, I am sure you will enjoy her review anyway.

Thy´s Day # 47

2011-04-14T10:00:00.001+01:00

A sunny April day

Gretelise Holm, Møgkællinger (2010).

2011-04-13T10:00:00.012+01:00

[An interesting Danish ´femikrimi´ - the plot involves a mysterious woman who declares she will castrate a man for every woman who is raped in Denmark. Sadly the idea is spoiled a bit by the writer´s over-emphasis on her feministic message]

Romanen er den femte i serien om journalisten Karin Sommer, som nu er gået på pension.

"Der var flere, som så døden kysse skelettet bag det monstrøse edderkoppespind i hjørnet, men dæmoner, djævle og zombier tog ikke anstød. Flirt mellem lærere og elever var mere reglen end undtagelsen ved festerne på Skovholm Højskole."

Efter den ovennævnte Halloween-fest på højskolen bliver unge Rebekka Madsen fundet dræbt. Den charmerende lærer Jonas Kamper, som Rebekka har haft et forhold til, bliver kendt skyldig for mordet. Kampers kone beder imidlertid Karin Sommer om hjælp, overbevist om at Jonas´ dom er justitsmord.

Samtidig indleder en eller flere kvinder en række overfald på mænd. Bagefter modtager politiet breve med erklæringer om, at hver gang en kvinde er blevet voldtaget, vil en mand blive kastreret.

Jeg syntes egentlig godt om de første bind i Karin Sommer-serien pga den lidt usædvanlige hovedperson: den frigjorte Karin, som ikke lader sig sætte i bås, men i høj grad gør som hun har lyst til i den tredje alder. Denne historie har også sine gode sider, men en interessant plotidé bliver spoleret lidt af, at forfatterens kønspolitiske pointe bliver hamret fast på stort set hveranden side. Man kan sammenligne med søskendeparret Hammers Svinehunde, hvor temaet selvtægt overfor pædofile køres for langt ud i stedet for at lade læseren tænke selv.

Jeg lånte bogen på biblioteket.

N is for Niels and for Nerds

2011-04-12T10:00:00.017+01:00

- for Kerrie´s alphabet meme -

Why is it that so many of us love crime series? There may be many different answers, but I am sure the protagonist plays a very important role. Some are strong and active, others seem to be complete failures, but they always get their villain in the end. And some of them are nerds, one way or the other.

The definition of a nerd = an intelligent but single-minded person obsessed with a nonsocial hobby or pursuit.

These days, Lisbeth Salander of Millenium fame is probably one of the best known crime fiction nerd. In my opinion, the passionate computer nerd and hacker is the main reason that this trilogy is so popular.

Another female protagonist is Alan Bradley´s very young Flavia de Luce. What sets Flavia apart from millions of young girls of her age is her scientific mind and her obsession with chemistry.

When I came up with the idea, I was certain I had come across several nerdy detectives, but with my unreliable memory... Would you call Inspector Morse a crossword nerd? Sherlock Holmes, perhaps?
Who is your favourite crime fiction nerd?

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Today is also Two-Sentence Tuesday so let me introduce you to Niels, the young protagonist of "Crystal Night". He likes ciphers and licence plates, but perhaps that is not exactly nerdy, just normal behaviour for a ten-year-old boy.

Niels was waiting patiently, well hid among the foliage of an old elm tree near the local substation, a red-brick building that resembled a tiny church tower.

Johan Theorin, Blodlag (2010)

2011-04-11T10:00:00.023+01:00

I den tredje svenske Øland-krimi møder vi igen Gerlof Davidsson, den gamle skipper, men historierne er som sådan uafhængige af hinanden.

Prologen begynder lige på og hårdt. Per Mörner har søgt oplysninger og fundet en række navne i lokalsamfundet, og nu skal han dø.

"Per Mörners venstre hånd var hårdt forbrændt, hans ribben var brækkede, og synet virkede fugtigt og sløret, mens følelsen i kroppen stadig var der. Han kunne mærke benzinen, der blev hældt over ham, fornemmede, hvor lunken den var. Sammenlignet med den kolde aftenluft var væsken næsten varm, og den sved og brændte, da den løb ned i hans hår og ind i de blødende sår i ansigtet."

Gamle skipper Gerlof sidder på plejehjemmet, men beslutter sig for at vende tilbage til sit lille hus, da han er overbevist om, at han ellers vil være den næste beboer, som dør. Et miljø, hvor trolde, elver og varsler hører naturligt hjemme, og hvor de fleste personligheder er så kantede og stærke, at de må støde sammen. En række nye (eller tidligere) beboere flytter til ´blodlaget´, grænsen mellem troldene og elvernes verdener, et skel som traditionelt regnes for at betyde ulykke.

Per Mörner er fraskilt og far til tvillingerne Jesper og Nilla. Nilla er alvorligt syg, men Per håndterer det dårligt, er næsten ude af stand til at tale med ekskonen og børnene om det, i stedet farer han rundt i en temmelig planløs legen detektiv.

Ud over Per møder vi Max og Vendela Larsson. Vendela søger tilbage til sit barndomsmiljø for at møde elverne og få ryddet lidt op på sin verden.

Gennem første halvdel af de fire hundrede sider blev jeg fanget af personerne og miljøet, så det generede mig ikke, at plottet somme tider kommer lidt i anden række, men efterhånden syntes jeg, historien faldt lidt fra hinanden. Jo, læseren får en form for afslutning, men ikke en krimi-afslutning, hvor politi eller detektiver aktivt forsøger at opklare forbrydelserne, her foregår alt ligesom tilfældigt, som regel mens personerne venter på noget helt andet. Elver, operationer, døden, foråret eller hvad det nu kan være.

Det synes oplagt at sammenligne med Håkan Nessers En fortælling om hr Roos, hvor krimiplottet i perioder er sekundært, men Nessers personer er langt mere troværdige og helstøbte.

Jeg lånte bogen på biblioteket. Min anmeldelse af Natstorm.

Johan Theorin, The Quarry (2011).

This is the third Swedish Öland mystery. Though Gerlof Davidsson, the old sea captain, is a recurrent figure, the stories are not related in any other way.

After a dramatic prologue we meet Gerlof who has had just about enough of the old people´s home. He makes up his mind to return to his small home, sure that otherwise he will be the next resident to die. This is an environment where trolls, elves and omen seem to belong, and where most of the characters are so headstrong and forceful that a confrontation seems inevitable. A group of new (or returning) people move to the ´blood layer´ (hence the title), the border between the worlds of the trolls and the elves, an area which is regarded as unlucky.

Per Morner is divorced and the father of the twins Jesper and Nilla. Nilla is ill, but Per handles the situation badly, unable to communicate with his ex and his children about it; instead he darts around in a fairly aimless game of sleuthing.

Apart from Per we meet Max and Vendela Larsson. Vendela seeks back to her childhood environment to meet the elves and solve some of her private issues.

Throughout the first half of four hundred pages I was absorbed by the characters and the setting so it didn´t trouble me that the plot played second fiddle, but by and by the story seemed to fall apart. There is a solution though neither the police nor the main characters seem to focus on solving the crimes; everything seems to happen by coincidence while the characters are waiting for something else. Elves, operations, death, spring or whatever.

In Håkan Nesser´s "A Story about Mr Roos" the crime story is also secondary throughout several chapters, but Nesser´s characters seem more credible and their actions plausible.

The book was a library book. My review of The Darkest Room.

The Notice Board

2011-04-10T10:00:00.035+01:00

Meet Joe Florez - the first writer who has accepted my invitation to post about his new book. Remember, if you are an upcoming crime writer or want to share other crime-related news, you can also send me a note.

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A FAIRY TALE OF LA HONDA

by Joe Florez

My new noir mystery, WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO JERRY PICCO?, is set on the west coast of the US. You might describe it as ‘Boogie Nights meets Farewell My Lovely’, although that’s probably unfair to both of those works! The narrative takes place mainly in the present, but carries distinct echoes of another time, less than half a century ago, but a time already mythical in our hearts and minds.

When I first read Tom Wolfe’s THE ELECTRIC KOOL-AID ACID TEST, I immediately I got interested in the hippie generation. I was fascinated in particular with La Honda, the place in the Californian woods where Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters set up their commune/base camp in the early ’60s.

There is a little bit of me, and of many people, I guess, that wants to have a taste of the idealism of this period, however unsustainable, contradictory and downright self-indulgent it might have been. And this is the backdrop to my humorous noir mystery. It’s about a commune, deep in the woods of North California, just some guys who want to recreate a bit of la Honda for themselves.

The book, I hope, is also something of a homage to the Pranksters, a mixture of innocence and daft, indecent pleasure. The main character is a midget porn star, and the PI who goes in search of him is a thuggish ex-Berkeley professor who lost his job for dangling his boss out of a fifth-story window. All this wrapped up in a plot based on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I think Ken might have liked it.

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO JERRY PICCO? at Amazon.Com

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO JERRY PICCO? Amazon.co.uk

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO JERRY PICCO? Smashwords

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James W. Nichol, Midnight Cab (2002)

2011-04-09T10:00:00.003+01:00

A mini-review

This Canadian thriller offers a most intriguing beginning. A three-year-old boy is left by the roadside, and all he can tell the police is that his name is Walker. Inexplicably, no one misses the little boy who is later adopted by a loving family in the country.

Of course Walker feels an urge to know who he is when he grows up, so at the age of eighteen he moves to Toronto. Here he finds a job as a taxi driver and forms a friendship with the handicapped night despatcher Krista Papadopoulos.

And then there is the story from the past about the boy Bobby who knows his father is not satisfied with him but doesn´t really understand why - Bobby is certain he has a brilliant future ahead of him, but for the reader it is difficult not to worry about his violent streak.

Very entertaining and exciting thriller. Furthermore the character Walker and his friendship with Krista appealed to me quite a lot. This debut is strongly recommended.

This was a Petrona book (caution: they tend to be addictive).

Sunday´s post: come back tomorrow for the Notice Board - and meet a rather unusual character.

I couldn´t help it

2011-04-08T10:00:00.004+01:00

I have been really good for two months, but the pictures speak for themselves, don´t they?

I ventured into AwesomeBooks and they held me hostage until I had paid ransom! Or something.

Thy´s Day # 46

2011-04-07T10:00:00.016+01:00

Massive invasion

April Garden Blues

Neil Cross, Captured (2010)

2011-04-06T10:00:00.001+01:00

- mini review -

This thriller is a British standalone.

After a MRI scan, Kenny receives his death sentence. One month left. Kenny reacts by writing a short list of people he feels he has let down because now is his last chance to make it up to them. One of the people on the list is Callie Barton, a school friend who was very kind to Kenny.

This was a quick and exciting read. Like C.J. Box, Three Weeks to Say Goodbye, it deals with what happens when everything in your life is turned upside-down. What are you ready to do, and is it possible to go back and change certain events? Intriguing questions and an unusual crime story, but what did I think about the main character? Not quite as appealing as the drama that surrounds him.

This was an ARC from Maxine of Petrona.

Two-Sentence Tuesday

2011-04-05T10:00:00.038+01:00

Two-Sentence Tuesday is hosted by Women of Mystery.

Perhaps you have noticed that I have darted around like a headless hen for some time. No, not literally (at least I hope not though it might explain a couple of things), but literarily. I have moved back and forth between two longer projects - my English cosy mystery, "The Halloween Murderer", and a Danish one called "Stenen for Graven".

Perhaps I shouldn´t tell you yet, but this weekend I found a way out of my dilemma - I returned to an old, Danish manuscript. A good solution? Well, only time can tell. Some of my very reliable beta-readers assure me there is a lot of potential in "Crystal Nights", however, so I will try to follow this plan:

1. Improve the weak middle part
2. Make the characters more realistic and engaging
3. Translate it into English

A sentence or two or... from the opening scene (Berlin 1938):

Sara Goldberg Stein closed the last suitcase and sank down on one of her beautiful Biedermeier chairs. The room was cold, and though she did her best to keep the flat clean and well aired, a sour smell of tarry soot had penetrated everything. The wallpaper was damp and mildewed, but perhaps it would not matter anyway. If Simon was right...?
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M is for Mortal

2011-04-04T10:00:00.010+01:00

- for Kerrie´s alphabet meme -

Poetry may be the direct route to immortality, but crime fiction? Hardly.

Ten things you should never do if you are a character in a crime novel:

1) don´t go to that isolated place on your own
2) don´t forget to charge your mobile phone
3) don´t leave your weapon at home
4) don´t open the door to strangers - or friends - or neighbours
5) don´t walk your dog in the park - or on the beach - or anywhere
6) don´t eat mushrooms
7) don´t turn your back to any of the suspects
8) don´t try to find your missing relatives
9) don´t leave your fingerprints around
10) don´t move to Bury St. Edmunds or Midsomer

What is your best advice to all those frivolous characters?

The Notice Board

2011-04-03T10:00:00.026+01:00

It is early days yet so let me open the ball with news about a Danish crime writer.

I am very happy to tell you that Jussi Adler-Olsen´s first police procedural featuring Carl Mørck is on its way in English. Mørck may not be the most active cop, but fortunately his superior appoints an assistant, the rather unusual ´little helper´ Assad.

"Mercy" (Kvinden i buret, 2007) was a fine debut (I read it before my blogging days), and the series has received well-deserved acclaim in Scandinavia. Danish reviewers agree that Adler-Olsen is in brilliant shape, and I promise to review volume three and four before long. I just like spacing fine series like this one out a bit.

"Mercy" (UK edition) should come out the 12th of May.
"Keeper of Lost Causes" (US edition) is planned for the 18th of August.

My review of the second volume, Fasandræberne (The Pheasant Killers)

Jussi Adler-Olsen´s home page

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And remember, send me an e-mail if you want me to post YOUR crime fiction news.

Vintage Short Stories from Denmark

2011-04-02T10:00:00.023+01:00

As part of the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge I have tried to read some stories that are a bit out of my usual diet. Here are three old stories from Denmark, all from "The Most Interesting Stories of All Nations", ed. Julian Hawthorne, a free Gutenberg E-text in English.

Jørgen Vilhelm Bergsøe (1835-1911), The Amputated Arms
"I was studying at the University, and being coached in anatomy by my old friend Solling."
An anatomy teacher and some of his students lose the arms of their skeletons. Is this simple theft, a prank or a sinister ghost story? The main character, young Simsen, goes to the local cemetery in the middle of the night to find a new arm so they can continue their studies.

But of course he shouldn´t have! This may not be the most brilliant crime story, but I found it entertaining and well worth reading.

Bernhard Severin Ingemann (1789-1862), The Sealed Room.
Interestingly, I know Ingemann as the writer of several beautiful hymns and had no idea he also dabbled in crime fiction. The story is set in Kiel where an old widow lives in a mysterious house with a secret room, "a corner room on the main floor" which "had not been opened for generations".

When her daughter Elizabeth marries, they need the large hall next to the secret room for the ball, however. Late in the night the guests dance, drink and wind each other up, until the bridegroom challenges Elizabeth´s unpleasant cousin, Lieutenant Wolff, to stay right outside the sealed room for the rest of the night.

This story is well-written and fairly interesting with a sinister atmosphere that would probably appeal to Stephen King fans.

Steen Steensen Blicher (1782-1848), The Rector of Veilbye.
This story is probably the most famous of the three, and while "What the Forest Lake Hid" from 1903 may be called the first Danish crime novel, this one is regarded as the first crime story.

The story begins with the diary of the local District Judge Erik Sørensen who explains how the father of his betrothed Mette Quist, the temperamental rector of Veilby, gets into trouble when he hits a lazy servant with a spade. The rector assures his son-in-law that the servant got up and ran away, but soon after several witnesses come forward, claiming Quist buried the dead man in his own garden.

"A venerable man of God - the father of my betrothed - is in prison!

The story is a tragic account of a murder, based at least in part on a true story, but despite the surprising ending, the story does not include much of the detection modern readers would expect in a crime story.

Read for the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge.

The Notice Board - new feature

2011-04-01T10:00:00.009+01:00

Now and then budding writers contact me because they want me to review their books or write a post about them. I have had to realize I can´t read them all, and that is why I have come up with a new feature: The Notice Board.

Once in a while I will step down from the soapbox and leave it to crime writers who are in the same situation as me - published, but not exactly rich or famous yet. So here is your chance to tell my readers about you and your story, making them want your book so much they run off to buy it at once.
I may also post about other crime fiction news - or perhaps you have ideas for a post? Send me a few words about your project, anything that is related to crime news, and if I like your idea, the notice board is yours.

What: write a short post (100-300 words) and send it off to do.hu.ja (at) mail.tele.dk.
Add a picture or two - of you, your book, your cute dog or whatever you think will do the trick - but only photos you have the right to publish.

When: on Sundays - whenever someone has something to say.

Thy´s Day # 45

2011-03-31T10:00:00.002+01:00

An old giant has fallen

Martin Edwards, The Hanging Wood (2011)

2011-03-30T09:03:00.001+01:00

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press (a NetGalley review copy).

The fifth Lake District Mystery, featuring DI Hannah Scarlett and historian Daniel Kind - to be published soon in the UK.

"I must talk to Hannah Scarlett, it´s a matter of life and death." This is how it all begins when Orla Payne calls the Cold Case Review Team of Cumbria Constabulary. Unfortunately she is so drunk that detective constable Linz Waller gives up understanding what she wants.

When Orla was a little girl, her teenage brother Callum went missing, and as his uncle committed suicide soon after, the police saw his death as an admission of guilt and closed the case. Orla never believed her Uncle Philip could hurt her brother, and even if he did, the body must be somewhere so she still wants closure of some kind. After her vain effort to get in touch with Hannah Scarlett, she goes to her father´s farm and commits suicide in a corn silo, however, a drastic action which indicates she may have received new information about her brother.

Central to the setting is St Herbert´s Residential Library where Daniel Kind is struggling to finish his latest book before deadline while all the beautiful women around him seem intent on taking his time. The library is also the place where Orla Payne worked, and so does the mysterious Aslan Sheik. Is the young man an idealist, or is there another reason why he chooses voluntary work among old books?

Followers of the series will know that Daniel has been single since Miranda left him, and now Hannah is also on her own as Marc moved out of their house a couple of months ago. Marc tries to make it up to her, but Hannah is not sure what she wants.

As usual, Martin Edwards offers a well-written story, an interesting setting and an intriguing cold-case mystery that captures your attention from the very first chapter. And what happens between Hannah and Daniel - well, you´ll have to read the book to find out.
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Blandede bolsjer

2011-03-27T19:17:00.005+01:00

[a collection of flash fiction in Danish just published via German-based XinXii - I know you can´t read them, but if you click on the link you will enhance my visibility on the market - thank you friends for making it no 1 on "viewed" today - and no 7 on the sales rank]

Fredag aften havde vi middagsgæster. Gæster, som gerne vil læse krimi, men helst på dansk, tak. Så nu har jeg taget springet og udgivet "Blandede bolsjer" - 24 pendlerprosa-historier. En del af dem stammer fra "Candied Crime", andre fra "Liquorice Twists" (endnu ikke udgivet), og så er der et par stykker, som sikkert aldrig bliver oversat til engelsk. Jeg har valgt at udgive i pdf-format, så alle kan læse dem.

OBS: jeg vil rigtig gerne have skandinaviske kunder, men hvis du allerede har læst "Candied Crime" og planlægger at købe "Liquorice Twists" er der ikke så mange nye bolsjer i butikken. Men hvis du blogger på dansk, vil jeg blive rigtig glad for en kort omtale.

Opdatering: i dag tirsdag er "Blandede bolsjer" nr 13 blandt Xinxiis bestsellers - ikke at det siger så meget, men alligevel...

Blogger going AWOL

2011-03-25T10:00:00.000Z

Perhaps you have noticed I have not been much around on your blogs lately. I have been caught up with work and such for several days, and now my house needs my attention (perhaps that also goes forr my bed and my family).

See you in a few days - and take care of yourselves out there - I´ll miss you.

Thy´s Day # 44

2011-03-24T10:00:00.005Z

More spring flowers - enjoy.

Palle Rosenkrantz, Hvad skovsøen gemte (1903/1967)

2011-03-23T09:37:00.000Z

Denne bog, som regnes for den første egentlige danske kriminalroman, er en klassiker, som jeg længe gerne har villet læse - og have til at stå på min hylde. For nylig faldt jeg over den i et antikvariat - for otte kroner!

Et lille barnelig dukker op til overfladen af en idyllisk skovsø i Nordsjælland.

"Holst bøjede sig ned over liget - det var et næppe fuldbåren barnelig, der øjensynlig havde ligget nogen tid på bunden af graven, det var ganske nøgent, som en lille mumie med fladtrykt ansigt, men endnu tilsyneladende friskt. Det så ud, som om halsen bar et stranguleringsmærke."

Liget bliver meget belejligt fundet af Eigil Holst, den dygtige og ambitiøse overbetjent fra København, og ritmester Arvid von Ankerkrone. Den lokale herredsfoged opklarer tilsyneladende sagen i en håndevending, da en bondepige tilstår at have dræbt sit nyfødte barn samme vinter. Men efter sin undersøgelse af liget griber distriktslægen ind og hævder, der ikke er tale om det rigtige barn. Herredsfogeden vrisser over dette spild af tid, men bøjer sig for lægevidenskaben og dræner søen. På bunden ligger en nøgen, ung kvinde, bundet fast til to store sten. Da 26-årige Eigil Holst allerede har udvist initiativ og intelligens, låner herredsfogeden ham og sætter ham på sagen.

Med en godt hundrede år gammel roman kan det ikke overraske, at personerne er lidt stereotype. De mandlige er stive og (selv)højtidelige, og kvinderne falder i to kategorier: de løsagtige fristere, som bringer selv gentlemen på gale veje, og de fine, sarte kvinder af god familie. Den kvindelige hovedperson (bortset fra offeret) er Ulla Ankerstjerne, som ´med ægte kvindelig takt´ undgår at tale om den kriminalsag, hendes far og Eigil Holst er dybt involveret i. Og selvfølgelig forventes der en langt højere sexualmoral af pæne kvinder end af mænd.

I det store og hele blev jeg positivt overrasket over første del af bogen, men derefter viser det sig, at der ligger en noget melodramatisk intrige bag mordet, samt en god del romantik. Så bogen lever ikke helt op til bagsideteksten: "en dansk udgave af Sherlock Holmes London i gaslys". Alligevel er den bestemt værd at læse for krimientusiaster, da der er tilløb til reelt detektivarbejde og anvendelse af retsmedicinske oplysninger.

Palle Rosenkrantz, What the Forest Lake Hid (1903/1967).
Though this novel has not been translated into English, it deserves a proper presentation. As it is often regarded as the first Danish crime novel, it is a classic I have wanted to read for a long time so when I stumbled on a cheap second-hand example of the 1967 edition in good condition I didn´t hesitate.

The body of a newborn baby is found in an idyllic lake on Zealand. Very conveniently, it is discovered by Eigil Holst, a competent and ambitious policeman from Copenhagen, and Arvid von Ankerkrone, another important character. The case seems to be solved in no time when a country girl confesses that she killed her newborn baby a few months ago. The medical officer of health claims the body cannot be her baby, however, and even though the local authorities grumble about expenses and waste of time, they drain the lake - and find the body of a naked woman, tied to two boulders. As young Eigil Holst has shown initiative and intelligence, he is attached to the case.

With a hundred year old novel I was not surprised that the characters were mainly stereotypes. The men seem stiff and pompous, and the women fall into two categories: the loose women who can lead even gentlemen astray, and the delicate damsels of good family.

On the whole the first part was a positive surprise, but the plot turned into a rather melodramatic intrigue, including a good deal of romance. So in my opinion the book does not quite live up to the blurb: "a Danish Sherlock Holmes". Nevertheless Danish crime enthusiasts should read it as it offers a promising detective and the use of forensic evidence.

Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge # 3

K is for Killer

2011-03-22T10:00:00.001Z

[For Kerrie´s alphabet in crime meme]

In the crime fiction genre, the killer - or murderer - is a very central figure. In early crime fiction, he was usually an unpleasant character, cruel and callous, and nobody doubted that the world would be a better place when he was hanged. Most people seemed to believe that criminals inherited their negative sides from their parents - a very convenient theory because if your parents were good, upright citizens, you would have nothing to fear.

Examples of the nasty killer: Arthur Conan Doyle´s "The Reigate Squire", but interestingly, the theory of heredity also plays an important role in a Reg Wexford story by Ruth Rendell, "Sins of the Fathers" from 1967.

Already in the Golden Age, some of the better writers offered more nuanced characters. Good examples are Dorothy L. Sayers´ "Busman´s Honeymoon" and "Murder Must Advertise" where the reader cannot help feeling some sympathy for the murderers.

And what about crime fiction from this millenium? Is the killer just an incorrigible villain who ought to be put away for good - or is the truth more complex than that? In the best novels I think the killers are as different and as difficult to typecast as any other character.

Two interesting examples among the books I have reviewed lately: Martin Walker, "Bruno, Chief of Police" and Daniel Woodrell, "Winter´s Bone".

What is your favourite crime story in which the killer is not presented as a monster but as a nuanced character?

(Please try not to spoil the pleasure for new readers)

Arne Dahl, Ghost House 2.0 (2010)

2011-03-21T10:00:00.003Z

[The Swedish writer Arne Dahl - a pen name - is famous in Scandinavia for his excellent series about the A-team, a special task force. This tiny book is a ghost story, however, but in my opinion it doesn´t deserve more than 2, max 3 stars as it is not very exciting. I think Dahl should stick to crime fiction, and I hope his interesting crime series will be translated into English]

Efter sin spændende krimiserie om A-holdet, byder svenske Arne Dahl på en lillebitte pocket eller ´pendler-bog´, en spøgelseshistorie på 75 små sider, som kan læses på en timestid.

Nyuddannede Mikaela Larsson søger det spændende job som producer af TV-programmet ´Ghost House´. Efter første sæson er seertallet dalet katastrofalt, og Mikaela får til opgave at peppe serien op. Efter en barsk periode med en religiøs sekt har Mikaela hårdt brug for en succes, så hun kaster sig begejstret ud i jobbet. Det viser sig, at den tidligere producer, Ann Bergström, forlod projektet uden varsel efter et besøg på en lille landejendom fra 1600-tallet.

Og herefter bliver Mikaela og læseren så kastet ud i en spøgelseshistorie, som er underholdende, men så heller ikke mere. Og sprogligt er den danske oversættelse bestemt ikke noget særligt:

"Sikkert en pegebog, tænkte Mikaela og mærkede pludselig, at hendes selvtillid blev styrket. Som sædvanlig af et bag det milde smil godt skjult raseri."

Jeg fandt bogen på biblioteket under krimi & spænding. Tja.

Min bedste sommerfornøjelse/Summer Pleasures

2011-03-20T10:00:00.002Z

"Blogkvinder 40+" asked me to bring a picture of my best summer pleasure.

With pleasure - here you see my writer´s corner outside our cottage. All I need is pleasant weather and a good, long holiday to make me happy.

Colin Bateman, Mystery Man (2009)

2011-03-19T10:00:00.013Z

This novel is a Northern Irish stand-alone (a belated St Patrick´s Day review)

The narrator of this story is a nameless first-person owner of a bookshop in Belfast. When his neighbour, a private detective, disappears, he is more or less pushed into taking over his unsolved cases.

One cannot help admiring the enterprising protagonist who calls himself Lawrence Block:
"The next customer was just looking for directions. He wanted to know where Queen´s University was. I said I wasn´t sure and sold him a street map. It was only around the corner, but the profit was the difference between burger and steak."

The detective business seems to be a bright, new way of making money, and having solved a couple of cases relatively successfully, ´Larry´ feels he is ready to embark on a missing person case. Soon he is not sure if he has got himself entangled in a Nazi conspiracy or just a long row of unfortunate coincidences.

This is an extremely funny story, especially Larry´s fumbling relationship with the girl next door, his self-appointed sidekick who is not always willing to accept her minor role.

I bought it myself and read it for the Ireland Reading Challenge # 4.

See the review that tempted me: Mystery Man

Martin Walker, Bruno, Chief of Police (2008)

2011-03-18T10:00:00.007Z

[Dansk titel: Politimesteren i St Denis (2010)]

Mini-review.

This police procedural, set in the French countryside, is written by a British author and the first in a series.

The village of St Denis is shocked when old Hamid al-Bakr, an immigrant from Algeria, is killed in the most brutal fashion. As the murder seems to be race-related, it soon leads to racial tension, accusations and heated demonstrations.

Captain Bruno Courrèges is a great protagonist, a village policeman who is very proud that he has never had to use his service gun. He believes in solving problems as quietly as possible to avoid confrontations and use of weapons. He loves his local community, but not necessarily stupid laws that are ´really laws of Brussels´.

Furthermore Bruno is a charming character who loves good (French) food and enjoys the company of intelligent women.

A good mystery with a fine sense of place - I bought the book myself.
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Thy´s Day # 43

2011-03-17T10:00:00.007Z

Spring finally sprung.

It is so cold here you wouldn´t believe it, though.

(I added a close-up from last year for visitors
who don´t know the flower)

Can you see the smoke?

Candied Crime - distribution

2011-03-16T09:45:00.002Z

Thank you to all the generous friends who have bought and reviewed "Candied Crime".

Now and then I come across people who don´t think they can read it because it is an e-book, or they are not certain how to buy via Smashwords. I don´t want to push anyone into buying (or selling) my stories, but I´d like to clear up a misunderstanding.

Anyone who has a computer can read Smashwords books - because Smashwords offers ten different formats, including PDF and rtf.

Besides, Smashwords distributes books to several other retailers - if the writer wants them to. So now, five weeks after my book launch, you can buy "Candied Crime" via Barnes & Noble (Nook), Sony, and diesel ebook store.

And soon you should also be able to buy it via Amazon.com (Kindle) and Kobo. Until then, Kindle readers must choose Smashwords´ Kindle mobi version.

New German-based distributor (pdf version): XinXii.

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NB: I have just seen my first five-star review on Smashwords! Do you think I´ll be able to teach today?

Two-Sentence Tuesday

2011-03-15T10:00:00.003Z

[The meme is hosted by Women of Mystery]

This week I have been relatively good. I have edited some chapters of "The Cosy Knave", polished a query, added a couple of hundred words to "The Halloween Murderer" and written a new flash fiction story.

Catastrophe (a flash fiction story with hardly any fish but plenty of cats):

"The crisis hit the area hard, and when the landlord raised the rent a notch or two, she was forced to give up the first-class cat fodder she used to spoil her darlings with. They stuck up their triangular faces at first, but after a few days they seemed to accept the second-rate bill of fare."

J is for Jokes

2011-03-14T10:00:00.013Z

[For Kerrie´s alphabet in crime meme]

In my current read there are jokes and puns aplenty.

        ----------------------------

Sergeant Mary Mary is transferred to Reading police station.
"´Mary?´ said an officer who was carrying a large potted plant in the manner of someone who thinks it is well outside their job description. ´... How often do you water these things?´
´That one?´ replied Mary without emotion. ´Never. It´s plastic.´"

        ----------------------------

´Jack, I want you to meet Detective Sergeant Mary´.
´Hello,´ said Jack.
´Mary Mary,´ said Mary Mary.
´Hello, hello?´
´Don´t play the fool, Spratt,´ cut in Briggs.
´It´s Mary Mary,´ explained Mary. ´That´s my name.´
´Mary Mary? Where are you from? Baden-Baden?´

        ----------------------------

Perhaps there are too many jokes and too little plot in Jasper Fforde´s "The Big Over Easy". At least I got a bit tired after a few chapters and left the book behind in our cottage.
A non-review? I am not quite sure yet. Maybe I´ll pick it up again some other day.

Cover Opinions

2011-03-13T08:56:00.001Z

You wanted a liquorice noose - and got one.

Comments on these new covers are very welcome.

Furthermore, I need your help with a name. My poor Constable Archibald Primrose needs a new name (a less feminine family name). I could change it slightly by calling him Plumrose (which would go well with the general food theme in The Cosy Knave), or I could make up quite a new persona by calling him Constable Archibald Enfield. What do you think?

Thank you for your input; my muse just came up with a compromise:

Archibald Penrose.

Susanne Staun, Døderummet (2010)

2011-03-12T10:00:00.011Z

[So sorry, but Staun - a great Danish favourite of mine - has only been translated into German so far, not English. I keep my fingers crossed that this new series will cross some seas or oceans and hit you too]

Denne thriller er den første i en ny serie om retsmedicineren Maria Krause. Modvilligt følger hun i hælene på sin nære veninde, den nigerianske retskemiker Nkem fra København til landsforvisning i Odense, og det kan naturligvis kun gå galt.

"Da jeg vågnede igen, var alting hvidt: Væggene, loftet, rullebordet, sengetøjet, alt sammen kridhvidt. Men fra en venflon på min håndryg løb en gullig dropslange skråt op til højre for sengen og endte i et metalstativ, hvor en portion mørkerødt blod dråbevist tømte sig i mig."

Maria Krause er ikke skør på samme måde som profileren Fanny Fiske, men så alligevel. Krause har sine sider, som det noget specielle forhold til voldtægter, fantasidatteren Emilie, og vel også erkendelsen af, at hun gerne skal "behandles lidt hårdhændet for ikke at gå sovende gennem det hele."

Odense og Krause går ikke specielt godt i spænd, hun er ikke særlig tilfreds med de midaldrende politimænd og obducenter, som omgiver hende, men da noget tyder på, Odense har fået sin egen, meget brutale seriemorder, som går efter helt unge piger, vågner hun op til dåd.

Samtidig følger vi afsnit fra seriemorderens dagbog. Afsnit som viser, at han er ganske skamløs og aldrig har ladet sig nøje. Hvad han har behov for, tager han, med den stærke, intelligente mands ret.
Stauns nye serie byder på spænding, godt krimihåndværk, en interessant hovedperson - og som ventet en sprudlende, respektløs leg med sproget.

Læst for Bogudfordringen for marts: kvindelige, danske forfattere. Bogen var en biblioteksbog.

Rebecca Cantrell, A Trace of Smoke (2009)

2011-03-11T10:00:00.001Z

This novel is the first Hannah Vogel story and the American writer´s debut.

The story begins in Berlin 1931 when the German crime reporter Hannah Vogel visits the police station to see if there is a good story for her. What she finds is a picture of her dead brother on the wall of recent unclaimed bodies. As Ernst has lent his identification papers to a Jew who is emigrating to the USA, she has to keep his identity secret though hear heart bleeds.

She promises herself she will find Ernst´s killer, but she seems to be a bit distracted by Boris, the very attractive single father she met during one of her court cases. She embarks on a search in Ernst´s environment, among the young Nazi soldiers and crossdressers of the nightclub El Dorado, however.

And then five-year-old Anton, the courageous little ´Indian´, is delivered on her doorstep like another parcel. He brings with him a birth certificate that says Ernst and Hannah Vogel are his parents, plus a very strong personality.

A beautifully written historical crime novel that engaged me from the very first page, not least because of the interesting and determined protagonist. Strongly recommended for lovers of historical crime fiction.

I won the book in a competition and read it for the Global Reading Challenge (the seventh continent; history).

Thy´s Day # 42

2011-03-10T10:00:00.008Z

Who was here?

And a reminder: you have nine days left to join Margot´s Christchurch raffle - support the earthquake victims and win crime fiction. Do the Write Thing.
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DJ´s Bait in the Box # 91

2011-03-09T10:00:00.009Z

[No, these signs are NOT Scandinavian - I hope they will prove helpful]

This week´s bait book is the third debut in a row - a very well-written one.

"Echoes of my footfalls faded into the damp air of the Hall of the Unnamed Dead as I paused to stare at the framed photograph of a man. He was laid out against a riverbank, dark slime wrapped around his sculpted arms and legs. Even through the paleness and rigidity of death, his face was beautiful. A small, dark mole graced the left side of his cleft chin. His dark eyebrows arched across his forehead like bird wings, and his long hair, dark now with water, streamed out behind him."

The Rules:
If you recognize the quotation, or if you think you are able to guess who wrote it, please post a comment. Just leave a hint, do not spoil the fun by giving too much away. The book will be reviewed on Friday.

A Summer Fling

2011-03-08T10:00:00.019Z

[A suitable story for the international women´s day - or?]

Monday Mildred Kickinbottom put on a new polyester blouse in a delicate lavender shade, but Arnold didn´t notice. He was focusing on identifying those deadly bones of his herring and spitting them out, quite conspicuously, to remind Mildred what he thought about her choice of dinner.

"I don´t know how you can forget I detest herring! The bones make me choke."

Tuesday night he didn´t notice that she wore a new scent either. As haddock was better than herring, he ate his dinner in silence while skimming the newspaper.

"More veggies?" she tried.

"If I needed anything, I´d say so, wouldn´t I?" He rattled his paper dismissively, wondering what the strange, new smell was. Had she been wasting his money on strange herbs or spices again?

Wednesday he couldn´t find his razor where he always left it. Someone had put it on the wrong shelf, and a long, grey hair was twined around the handle. He pulled the shower curtain away to ascertain that Mildred hadn´t tried some funny business. What on earth could the woman be up to?

"Your dinner is on the table. A nice, roasted plaice with parsley sauce. Just the way you like it."

"Hrrrmpf. Could´ve been worse, I suppose." He sat down and glared at his full plate. Everything looked much as usual, but the idea of Mildred shaving her varicose legs could make any man lose his appetite.

Thursday he put on his galoshes, mumbling something about bird watching. He rambled around the neighbourhood for hours, hiding in the shrubbery with his binoculars, but he didn´t see anything out of the ordinary. As he had always suspected, Mildred didn´t do much else than shop all day.

Apparently a new fishmonger had come to the area, parking his rusty van outside the old school. A tall and swarthy fellow. Mildred spent a ridiculous amount of time on selecting something scaly off the counter, chatting and laughing foolishly.

He adjusted the binoculars. From this distance it looked as if she was purchasing plaice or halibut. Disgusting, misshaped creatures, and Arnold was sure that if he ate more of them, he would begin to grow fins.

Friday he picked at the smoked salmon before asking her why she couldn´t cook a proper fish and chips dinner if she insisted on wallowing in all those creatures of the sea.

She broke into a loud sob and flung a slimy piece of pink fish in his face before she ran upstairs to sulk in bed. Women!

Saturday he brightened up when he saw the smoking hot shepherd´s pie with plenty of gravy. Mildred sank down on the chair across him in an ancient cardigan with mended elbows. Her eyes looked a bit blotched, as if she was coming down with a summer cold.

"Nice pie," he observed. "Run off and get me a cold beer, will you? And why don´t you grab one yourself, old gal."

[Remember: if you like the cranky Kickinbottoms, there are four stories about them in my recent collection "Candied Crime"]
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I is for Investigation

2011-03-07T12:17:00.002Z

[Thank you to Kerrie, Mysteries in Paradise, for hosting the alphabet meme]

When I first fell for the genre of crime fiction, it was the puzzles, the game of trying to make sense of the clues, that caught me. My first ´love´ as an adult reader was Dorothy L. Sayers, one of the most famous Golden Age writers.

What I enjoyed in her books (apart from Lord Peter Wimsey whom I found rather charming) was the way she let the reader follow Wimsey´s investigation. She let us play along, showing us the cracked egg and the tube of paint, the cipher letter and the stains on the floor. So when I read a great mystery, it appealed to my curiosity, making me want to solve mysteries myself.

Give me some good detective work, and I´ll keep quiet - for a few hours at least.

I have learned to like other subgenres, but I still appreciate a good, old-fashioned investigation, and whether I write about amateur sleuths or police procedurals, I like to add those little clues: the dirty towel, the binoculars in the tree, the little toe etc.

Come back tomorrow for a new Kickinbottom story (a rather open-ended one) with a none-too-brilliant character who might need YOU to figure out what´s going on.
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My Challenges - progress in January and February

2011-03-06T10:00:00.004Z

In a bout of optimism, I joined no less than five challenges for this year, and so far I have done fairly well. If you want to read a review, please select the relevant author among my tags.

The Global Reading Challenge (medium level, 14 books):
Australasia: Vanda Symon, Overkill
Europe: Esther Verhoef, Close-Up
North America: Alan Bradley, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
Cathryn Grant, The Demise of the Soccer Moms
The Seventh Continent: Kate Summerscale, The Suspicion of Mr Whicher (history)

2011 Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge (4-6 novels)
Margery Allingham, Hide Your Eyes (1958)
John Buchan, The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915)

What´s in a Name (6 novels)
A number: C.J. Box, Three Weeks to Say Goodbye
A gem: Peter Lovesey, Diamond Dust
A size: Declan Burke, The Big O

Ireland Reading Challenge (6 novels)
Declan Burke, The Big O
Tana French, The Likeness
Brian McGilloway, Gallows Lane
Colin Bateman, Mystery Man (not reviewed yet)

Bogudfordringen 2011 (Danish)
January: crime before 2000:
Margery Allingham, En morder lukkes ind (1958/1971)
John Buchan, Thirty-Nine Steps (1915)
February: short story collections
Roald Dahl, Kiss, Kiss
Cathryn Grant, Flash Fiction for the Cocktail Hour
Laura Lippman, Hardly Knew Her

And another kind of progress: in January I had so many books in my TBR that I couldn´t squeeze any more in. Since then I have read at least six of those without buying new ones (but don´t ask me how many e-books I have acquired in the meantime - they don´t take up space so they don´t count at all).

What about you; did you join any challenges?
Have you made some progress?

Peter Lovesey, Bloodhounds (2004)

2011-03-05T10:00:00.000Z

This is the thirteenth British DS Peter Diamond novel. I had not planned to read it so soon after Diamond Dust, but when I closed that book, I realized a profound truth about TBRs and omnibuses: you cannot remove the book from the TBR until you have read both stories.

Shirley-Ann, who is new to Bath, joins the local crime fiction club, The Bloodhounds, a small group of individualists who discuss their favourite subgenres heatedly. Then a very valuable stamp is stolen, and one of the group is involved in the crime - apparently someone has grown tired of fictional crime and decided to play games with the local police.

This book struck me as more interesting than Diamond Dust, partly because the characters, e.g. the female members of the crime fiction club, Shirley-Ann and Jessica, seemed more real to me. Besides, lovers of crime fiction will probably enjoy the discussions of real crime fiction writers.

It is not likely that I will read all the volumes before these two (see my review of Diamond Dust), but I may return to Peter Diamond at some point.

I bought the omnibus myself.

Daniel Woodrell, Winter´s Bone (2006)

2011-03-04T10:00:00.007Z

This novel is an American stand-alone.

Sixteen-year-old Ree Dolly is all alone with a mother ´gone daffy´ and two younger brothers. The police come looking for her father who left months ago, telling her that unless her father turns up in court, they will lose their home which her father put up as security.

Ree needs her father, dead or alive, and the only way to find him among the taciturn country folks in the Ozark Mountains is to search for him herself.

This fine, little mystery has quite a lot in common with the British novel Blacklands which I reviewed last week.

First of all there is the bleak and remote environment. The Ozark Mountain is the kind of place where you are surprised every time you are reminded that these people actually watch television. They have a long tradition of taking matters into their own hands, and you´d better obey their code of honour. Besides, producing methamphetamine is quite a common line of business.

Second, there is no stable and reliable father figure in the house, and the mothers are not exactly strong or active; thus the oldest child feels responsible for setting things right. Steven and Ree both assume the responsibility for the well-being of the whole family far too early in life.

Finally, Ree and Steven believe that by finding a missing person (Steven´s uncle, her father) they can restore some sort of order.

So there are several similarities between these two intriguing stories, yet Winter´s Bone seems even darker and more desolate than Blacklands.

I think I bought the book myself.

Thy´s Day # 41

2011-03-03T10:00:00.006Z

Have snow - want spring.

DJ´s Bait in the Box # 90

2011-03-02T09:39:00.000Z

A debut again, but like last week, I have tried to pick a significant quotation for you.

"He what, now?"
"Signed it all over. You didn´t know? Jessup signed over everything. If he don´t show for trial, see, the way the deal works is, you-all lose this place. It´ll get sold from under you. You´ll have to get out. Got somewhere to go?"

The Rules:
If you recognize the quotation, or if you think you are able to guess who wrote it, please post a comment. Just leave a hint, do not spoil the fun by giving too much away. The book will be reviewed on Friday.

H is for Horror

2011-03-01T09:28:00.001Z

- I rarely read horror, but in this thriller the writer plays with the genres by adding a touch of horror (or perhaps I just wanted an excuse to combine Kerrie´s alphabet meme with a post about my latest read? Who knows what is true and what is fabrication?)

Andrew Wilson, The Lying Tongue - a Death in Venice (2007)
This is the British writer´s first novel, and it is set in Venice.

One of the ways Wilson builds up suspense is creating a creepy atmosphere in the old, Venetian palazzo where much of the story takes place.

"Running down the centre of the large, three-storey, perfectly symmetrical building, like a spine of a long-dead monster, was a series of arched windows, four on each level, the extrados sculpted out of white marble. In one of the rooms on the first floor candles flickered, illuminating patches of the darkened interior and casting strange shadows up onto the ceiling."

The narrator´s description of the old writer Gordon Crace adds to this tone. Here is young Adam Wood´s first impression of his new employer:

"In front of me stood a man who seemed much, much older than I had imagined. He was stooped, nearly bent double, and as he slowly raised his head upwards to look at me I saw that the flesh on his neck had lost all definition. His tiny, grey-green eyes narrowed as he squinted into the sunlight, and instead of moving forwards to greet me he took one step back into the shade."

For two proper - and very fine - reviews of this interesting thriller, you may visit Petrona (Maxine who sent me the book) or "It´s a Crime! (Or a Mystery)". As I have not read much Patricia Highsmith, I can only say it reminded me of Oscar Wilde´s The Picture of Dorian Gray.

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I could also mention Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Minister´s Black Veil (1836) which I am reading in my English class this week as it also has certain horror aspects. I´d like to share a fine example of show, don´t tell. The congregation has just seen their veiled minister and "... several little boys clambered upon the seats, and came down again with a terrible racket."
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Bogudfordringen - februars noveller.

2011-02-28T10:30:00.038Z

En opsamlingspost om de tre novellesamlinger, jeg fik læst i februar. Den første i bogform, de to andre som e-bøger. At det blev tre amerikanske forfattere, er helt tilfældigt.

Først læste jeg Roald Dahls Kispus (1978), først udgivet på engelsk under titlen Kiss, Kiss (1959).
Indlæg om novellerne (fra to til fire stjerner):
Roald Dahl, Kiss, Kiss
Roald Dahl stories ...
Roald Dahl Stories.

Dernæst læste jeg Cathryn Grant´s samling af kortprosa, Flash Fiction for the Cocktail Hour (2010).
Indlæg om teksterne (tre-fire stjerner):
E is for Electronic Pleasures
F is for Flash Fiction

Og til sidst gik jeg i gang med Laura Lippman´s Hardly Knew Her (2008).
Indlæg om novellerne (tre-fire stjerner):
Laura Lippman, Hardly Knew Her (2008)
Laura Lippman, Hardly Knew Her II
Laura Lippman, Hardly Knew Her III
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Laura Lippman, Hardly Knew Her III

2011-02-28T10:00:00.011Z

This is the third and final post about Lippman´s collection of short stories.

Easy as A-B-C
This is the story about a contractor who ends up redecorating his grandparents´ old house for a very charming, new buyer.

I liked this quotation in particular:
"The stuff in books - anyone can learn that. All you need is time and curiosity and a library card, and you can fake your way through a conversation with anyone."

What you cannot fake, according to our contractor, is his very important job, restoring old houses professionally so they won´t kill their owners one day.

The Shoeshine Man´s Regrets.
This is a Tess Monaghan story. Tess and her friend watch a shoeshine man and a rude customer. When they get into a fight, Tess interferes, doing her best to stop the two men, while her friend calls the police. Very soon what looked like a minor brawl turns into crime of quite different dimensions, however.

A charming story about human character.

I bought the Kindle edition myself. Recommended for lovers of short stories.

Peter Lovesey, Diamond Dust (2004)

2011-02-27T10:00:00.009Z

This is the fourteenth British Peter Diamond novel.

Peter Diamond of Bath CID ends a case successfully by putting one of the infamous Carpenter brothers in prison for life. He does not get much time to enjoy his success, however, because a few hours later his wife, Stephanie, is shot in a local park.

Of course he cannot be in charge of this case, and for a few weeks he is so engrossed in his loss and the funeral preparations that he accepts staying on the sideline, especially as his colleagues seem to be efficient and competent. But when he surfaces again, he cannot just watch the investigation which by now seems to lead nowhere.

After a slow part the story gathers speed in the second half. There is a good and entertaining plot, but I do get annoyed when experienced policemen forget about important clues for 300 pages. There is one unusual side to this detective, however; he genuinely loved his wife and remembered to tell her.

I bought the book myself for the What´s in a Name Challenge, a gem.

Laura Lippman, Hardly Knew Her II

2011-02-26T10:00:00.001Z

This is the second post about Lippman´s collection of short stories.

The Babysitter´s Code
"The rules, the real ones, have seldom been written down, yet every girl knows them."
Read this story about the young babysitter Terri Snyder, and you´ll never let a teenage girl babysit in your home again. Or perhaps you should just think about what you have left lying around in your lingerie drawer before you go.

Hardly Knew Her
Sofia is "a lean, hipless girl, the type that older men still called a tomboy in 1975" - a young girl who loves football but hates her father´s poker games - and the consequences for his family. His father has a habit of raiding the house and selling their belongings, and what can a girl do to get her treasures back? Quite a lot, it seems.

Arm and the Woman
Many of my readers probably know much more about soccer moms than I do. Sally Holt is one of them, and she is also a very good listener which makes her very popular among men as well as women.

"To be a stay-at-home mother in Northwest D.C. was to be nothing less that a general, the Patton of the car pool, the Eisenhower of the HOV lane."

But when her husband leaves her, the whole system falls apart, and Sally has to come up with a plan to keep her home.

Do The Write Thing (in aid of Christchurch)

2011-02-25T16:03:00.000Z

As I am slowly recovering from a flu, I´ll just do the easy thing: copy most of Margot Kinberg´s post - please think about what you can do to help the victims of the terrible earthquake in New Zealand the other day.

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Hello, All,

First, thanks so very much for your supportive and kind comments about Do the Write Thing, the charity raffle I’m putting together to raise money for Christchurch, New Zealand earthquake relief.

Here are the details:

Several authors have already very kindly offered to donate signed copies of their books (Thank you!!) for this raffle. I’ll assemble the books into “book packages” that will be raffle prizes.

Once the list of authors and titles is final, I’ll announce the “packages.” You’ll then have the opportunity to win one of them. How do you get into the raffle? All we’ll ask is that you make a donation to the New Zealand Red Cross. Once you do that, you’ll be entered into the raffle, and you will have a chance to win a “book package” of terrific reads by very talented authors.

If you are an author who’d like to donate a signed copy of one of your books, please click the Email Me button on my sidebar (MargotKinberg(at)gmail(dot)com) and let me know that you’d like to be a part of Do the Write Thing and which title you’d like to contribute. Your donation will be greatly appreciated!! If you've already been in touch, thank you! I truly appreciate it.

If you’re not an author, but you want to get into the raffle, please stay tuned. Very soon (hopefully one day next week), I will have the final list of authors and titles, so you’ll get a chance to see the great prizes you could win. I’ll then post the prizes and include a clickable donation link so you can easily enter the raffle. You’ll have two weeks to enter the raffle. Then, at the end of two weeks, I’ll announce the winners. And don't worry; this is an international raffle. Helping others shouldn't be restricted.

Even if you would rather not donate a book or enter the raffle, please do me a favour. It would help me greatly if you’d pass the word along. Tweet it, Email it, or post a note on your own blog.

Thanks again for your support. Let’s all do the write thing!

Belinda Bauer, Blacklands (2010)

2011-02-25T10:00:00.003Z

This thriller is a British debut.

Eleven-year-old Steven suffers from lack of attention. His grumpy granny and his single mother have never got over the fact that Uncle Billy disappeared nineteen years ago. The little boy was killed by the paedophile murderer, Arnold Avery, but as Avery has never confessed to this crime, no one knows where he is buried.

For years Steven rambles Exmoor, digging holes to find his missing uncle and make everything in his family right, until one day when it strikes him that it would be easier to ask Mr Avery where he hid the body.

No spoilers, but the rest of this intriguing debut is an intellectual battle between a smart, determined boy and an imprisoned monster. As we get several sections from the child abuser´s point of view, this story could have been a nasty experience, but clearly this writer knows what her readers want to know - and what they don´t. She strikes a fine balance between what is scary and what is just sensational.

Besides, she draws the little, lonely boy and his Exmoor excursions very well. Strongly recommended page-turner!

Thank you to Maxine of Petrona for the book.
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Thy´s Day # 40

2011-02-24T10:00:00.005Z

We chose to sit indoors.

DJ´s Bait in the Box # 89

2011-02-23T09:55:00.001Z

[Bait box: Tim Duncan]

If you have read this debut, I think there is a fair chance this quotation will jog your memory.

"Nineteen years ago this eleven-year-old boy - probably much like himself - had tired of his fantasy space game and gone outside to play on a warm supper evening, apparently - infuriatingly - unaware that he would never return to put his toys away..."

The Rules:
If you recognize the quotation, or if you think you are able to guess who wrote it, please post a comment. Just leave a hint, do not spoil the fun by giving too much away. The book will be reviewed on Friday.

Two-Sentence Tuesday

2011-02-22T10:00:00.005Z

- Two-Sentence Tuesday is hosted by Women of Mystery -

What am I reading this week? Well, yesterday I put down a Swedish crime novel after 48 pages. I have just about had enough of spoiled, Swedish sailors for some time.

Why can´t I remember which debuts were good and which ones were less than overwhelming? If I had remembered my own review of this writer´s debut, I´d hardly have dragged this one home from the library. I always remember the brilliant ones, though.

Instead I picked up Peter Lovesey´s Diamond Dust. My expectations to this one are not sky high either, but I want to read it for the What´s in a Name challenge. What´s wrong with Peter Lovesey, you may wonder. Nothing, as far as I know, it´s just that British Peters who write lots of books tend to blur for me (James, Robinson, Lovesey). But perhaps Lovesey´s books are lovely - I hope so.

And now for a glimpse of my latest fish... eh, flash fiction:

A Summer Fling

Monday Mildred Kickinbottom put on a brand-new polyester blouse in a delicate lavender shade, but Arnold didn´t notice. He was focusing on identifying those tiny bones of his herring and spitting them out, quite loudly, to remind Mildred what he thought about her choice of dinner.

G is for Girl-Power

2011-02-21T12:18:00.002Z

For Kerrie´s weekly alphabet meme.

I am probably very spoiled because I can say I don´t need to be a feminist. What I mean is that other Danish women fought that fight before I entered the Danish workforce. So I have had two jobs which were earlier regarded as men´s jobs, and today I teach. I have taught for fifteen years and never, ever come across discrimination because of my gender.

It is not everybody who is so privileged so let G be for Girl-Power.

A female detective I discovered several years ago and still follow is Sue Grafton´s private detective Kinsey Millhone. Strong and stubborn, and she has all the determination and courage it takes to get the answers she needs to solve her cases. A protagonist with lots of personality - and who could be more suitable for an alphabet meme.

A new discovery is Alan Bradley´s little Flavia de Luce, the eleven-year-old protagonist of "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie". Being a very young, female detective in Britain of the fifties cannot have been easy. And of course Flavia and her bike run into trouble and resistance - but real girls fight for what matters to them!

Finally there is my own Rhapsody Gershwin, a librarian and spare-time detective. (And a third motherless woman now that I think about it.) Rhapsody´s fiancé, Constable Primrose, does not get any kind of support - and hardly any assistance - from his superior, and when Rhapsody sees that he is in trouble, she sets out to find the information he needs about people in Knavesborough. To be honest, Rhapsody is more curious than she is willing to admit so I am sure she enjoys hunting down the criminal.

Laura Lippman, Hardly Knew Her (2008)

2011-02-20T09:00:00.001Z

This is a collection of very different American short stories, the first part set in Baltimore.

The Crack Cocaine Diet
Kelley and her friend Molly have just dropped their boyfriends which is why they need a quick diet and new dresses to show the world how stupid these guys were to let them go. They decide cocaine must be the most efficient cure, and these two nice girls begin to look for an appropriate Baltimore corner to get their chosen drug.

Dear Penthouse Forum (A First Draft)
Andrew is stranded in the airport, having to wait for a plane the next morning, but fortunately he meets Maureen, a woman who is generous in more than one way and more than willing to help him out.

These stories are darker than Lippman´s Tess Monaghan stories, but strongly recommended. I bought the Kindle edition myself.
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Just playing around

2011-02-19T21:24:00.004Z

I bought a new programme today that makes it much easier for me to experiment with pictures - and book covers, as you can see.

And as I have promised myself I will be much more professionel when I publish my next volume of flash fiction, it may not be such a bad idea to try to come up with a cover that has some kind of connection with the book (click on the photo to enlarge it).

Not that there will be much liquorice in it - but plenty of twists.

Tell me what you think - will my bait work, or do I need chocolate?

Declan Burke, The Big O (2007)

2011-02-18T10:00:00.006Z

This love ... eh caper crime story is the writer´s second novel. No, of course a male Irish writer doesn´t write love stories. Yet... No, certainly not.

"Except what Karen remembered best was his eyes in the split-second when he realised what had just happened. How they got clearer but stayed perfectly still. Tigery eyes, gold flecks in hazel. Karen, knowing he couldn´t see her face behind the helmet´s visor, had been tempted to wink."

So this is the story about Ray and his companions who want to abduct Margaret, Frank´s ex-wife. Or perhaps it is the story about Karen, Frank´s receptionist and Margaret´s friend, who holds up people in her spare time and meets Ray during one of her stick-up ventures.

And that´s when things begin to get a bit complicated. You are already confused? Honestly, so was I, at least half of the time, but I didn´t mind very much, because this story was just so funny that I didn´t worry too much about who did what to whom.

The book was a gift from a blog friend. I read it for the Ireland reading challenge # 3 and What´s in a Name (size).

Thy´s Day # 39

2011-02-17T10:00:00.013Z

Does she really look like someone who is ready for eighty birthday guests?

No comments

- but if you want a quiet, dignified birthday party,

you may consider NOT inviting your siblings!

Roald Dahl stories (1959)

2011-02-16T10:00:00.004Z

My third and last post about Dahl´s collection, Kiss, Kiss (1959)

Georgy Porgy
This is the story of George the vicar who is not exactly confident around women. A long story, including a rat experiment which is supposed to show something about the behaviour of the sexes.

This one was just too weird, even for me - enough said.

The Champion of the World
Here we meet the mechanics Gordon and Claud who have a nightly hobby: poaching pheasants. They come up with a marvelous plan, including some raisins, a perambulator and nearly two hundred pheasants.

A hilarious short story.

Two-Sentence Tuesday

2011-02-15T10:00:00.012Z

After an extraordinary week, I settled down to write again yesterday. Not my novel yet, it may take a few days until I am back in full swing, but I wrote a flash fiction story.

Two-Sentence Tuesday is hosted by Women of Mystery, and here is my teaser:

Wailing Sirens

Arthur stumbled across the threshold, clutching his old briefcase. Spatters of blood enticed him through the hall, up the carpeted stairs, into the musty bedroom where someone had wreaked havoc on his world.