S is for Silence

(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?

R is for Revenge

- 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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Q is for Quest

[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? 

P is for Prison

- 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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O is for Order

- 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.

N is for Niels and for Nerds

- 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.

M is for Mortal

- 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?

K is for Killer

[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) 

J is for Jokes

[For Kerrie´s alphabet in crime meme]

In my current read there are jokes and puns aplenty.

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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.´"

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´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?´

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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.

I is for Investigation

[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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H is for Horror

- 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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G is for Girl-Power

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.

F is for Flash Fiction

Thank you, Kerrie, for hosting the weekly Crime Fiction Alphabet.

Flash is glimpses of angst, paranoia, dark humour - anything that lurks beneath the suburban facade.
I have read the second half of Cathryn Grant´s collection, "Flash Fiction for the Cocktail Hour", and again I will share a couple of quotations with you.

Get the collection for free - for a few days. 

Sitting with the Dead
The narrator, an old woman, meets her grandson´s fiancé, but is less than thrilled.

"She wore a dress with thin straps over her creamy white shoulders. Each time she reached for her wine glass, the strap on the left slid down her arm. The side of her breast popped out like the egg white emerges from a crack in a boiling egg - a silken bubble."

Besides, young Clara is a medium, conducting séances for money. A despicable practice as the dead should be left alone. No spoilers, but this particular story is among my favourites.

Out of Options.
Ah, black garbage sacks! I wonder what is in them in real life, but we all know what to expect when we come across them in crime fiction, don´t we?
Karla the caretaker doesn´t like dead bodies, but when she sees something sticking out of one of those black sacks in a dumpster, it seems she has no choice. Lovely (dark) twist.

Reverberation.
A sinister story about fireworks, but as always full of fine little observations about human beings and their priorities, "The carbonation sizzled against his teeth, probably rotting them away while he stood here doing nothing but wanting to kill someone." 

Latest news: see the winners of Cathryn´s give-away 

E is for Electronic Pleasures

[Kerrie´s alphabet meme + two-sentence Tuesday, Women of Mystery - a bit early]

Do you know how many free or cheap pleasures you can find out there? IF you can read electronic texts in one way or the other. (If you are reading this, you probably can).

I downloaded a great selection of free flash fiction the other day: "Flash Fiction for the Cocktail Hour" - eleven well-written stories full of intriguing characters - written by American Cathryn Grant.

As I am going to use this collection for my Danish challenge (short story month), I´ll bring a couple of delicious quotations over the month.

A Thousand and One Bottles of Wine.
"She plucked at the spandex that clung to her legs like cobwebs. She wasn´t sure if the tight fabric looked good because it showed how slim she was, or looked bad because it left nothing to the imagination."

Things change in Corrine´s life, and she decides it´s a good opportunity to think of her life style. Read the story to see how this attempt turns out. And you know what: you can download the whole collection from Smashwords - absolutely free of charge. But don´t come back to blame me if you develop an addiction to Cathryn´s stories! I read one, and I have followed her blog ever since.

Tomorrow: come back to see how you can win Cathryn´s brand-new novel, The Demice of the Soccer Moms, or even a Kindle for one, very lucky winner.


Finally, a quotation from my latest flash story, Hand in Glove.

She found the other glove under a woodpile, and it all came back.
"Your mother loved you, sweetheart. She went up to your room and kissed you goodbye before she left," her father had assured her. 
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D is for Detectives

[For Kerrie´s alphabet meme and for Two-Sentence Tuesday, hosted by Women of Mystery]

Many of my readers probably like series just as much as I do; the feeling that opening the next book, you will meet friends who are as familiar as your favourite slippers. Yet they can also surprise you – which is all the better.

Today I will only mention one couple, Daniel Kind and Hannah Scarlett, known and loved by thousands of fans, created by Martin Edwards in his Lake District Series.

Officially, Hannah is the detective while Daniel is just a historian. Somehow he always gets involved in her cases, however. There may be more than one reason for this, but it is clear that crime and research appeal to him. Both characters are credible and interesting personalities, and though we like them and take an interest in what happens to them, they are not boringly flawless.

A few words about Rhapsody Gershwin and Archibald Primrose, my own partners in crime.

Archibald is the village constable, but Rhapsody always stumbles on something sinister. She loves working together with her fiancé on a case, and she is probably more dogged than dainty. So far, she sees detecting as an exciting hobby, and an opportunity to get away from household chores which don´t appeal to her very much.Below Rhapsody is trying to question a young man in Aldburgh, her new setting:

“So you are home for the weekend?” Rhapsody said to Darwin, and at least she succeeded in making him lift his gaze from the floor. He studied her with his mouth slightly open until he made up his mind she deserved a smile. Not that she cared of course; she just wanted to form an impression of the people around her.
“Yeah,” he breathed, nodding as if he had said something very profound.
“I´m afraid I don´t know exactly what you are studying,” she beamed at him.
“Really?” He left his mouth open and his eyes on her cleavage.

Who is your favourite amateur sleuth? Why does this character appeal to you? 

NB: I never ever link to videos because they ´are not my thing´, but I must admit I found this one irresistible: I am reading a book. 

Thank you for the fun, Elaine.
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C should be for Crime, not Cleaning or Cooking

I am still circling around in Yorkshire, trying to add a bit of suspense to my Halloween mystery. I quite like my set of quirky villagers, but if they have secrets, they guard them far too well.

The funny thing is that last year I told a writer that she had painted her protagonist into a corner, meaning that she had created a setting that didn´t give the poor woman room, and now I have done exactly the same for Rhapsody. I have sent her off to a new cottage in order to clean and paint it - and the sweet, young woman does exactly what she has been told (some of the time, at least). Is it fun to cook or clean a dirty cottage? No. Is it fun to read about it? No. 

So changes will have to happen, but so far I have sent her off to the local pub - again. If she develops an alcohol problem or something, it´s all my fault.

And here a citation: 

Wisteria Featherstone wore a flowing silk dress in several blue and turquoise shades. Opposite her sat a slim, young man in a leather jacket who looked good in a slightly feminine way, but there was an angry set to his shoulders, and his lower lip protruded ominously.

 Two-Sentence Tuesday is hosted by Women of Mystery.  

 [And this was a C post - of sorts - for Kerrie´s alphabet meme]

B is for Blood

Thank you to Kerrie for hosting the Alphabet in Crime Fiction

When you read crime fiction, you are bound to come across a spot of blood – or a haemorrhage – quite often. And it seems that those of my friends who never read crime fiction believe blood and death is all there is to it.

But we know better, of course. So much depends on which subgenre you read –if you prefer hard-boiled thrillers set in cities or the cosy village puzzles. But I have hardly met a blogger who is satisfied if there is nothing to the story than violence.

Still, all categories seem to have embarked on an arms race, meaning that one body is no body. Apparently some people – the publishers? – the readers? – the writers? – demand more blood and gore than a decade ago.

Or am I wrong? 

NB: you have four days left to join my competition. 
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A is for Ancestors

[Thanks to Kerrie for hosting the Alphabet meme – I may not play along every week, but this one suited me very well as my next review is not ready]

I have realized years ago that all my hobbies include some element of the puzzle – or some kind of detective work. This weekend my mother visited us in our cottage, and – not quite unexpectedly – we turned to our shared hobby genealogy. I have spent several years tracking ancestors and enjoy the hunt very much. Recently my mother acquired this wonderful old photo we wanted identified.

Based on the context we found it in plus the woman´s age and her dress my theory was she must be my grandfather´s mother. I knew her full name was Ane Petrea Elsia Kristine Nielsen, born in 1872. She married in 1890 and died of TB in 1913 (which explains why none of my father´s siblings recognized her). I put the photo in a facebook folder Sunday afternoon, and less than six hours later I received a comment from my father´s cousin:

“Thank you for the pictures; Petrea is my father´s mother…” – and I had my identification!

She looks like my grandfather Martinus, don´t you think? 

Y for The Yellow Face

For the second-last post in Kerrie´s alphabet game I have chosen an old Sherlock Holmes story, The Adventure of the Yellow Face.

In many ways this is a typical Sherlock Holmes story. A very upset husband, Grand Munro, calls in our near-omniscient protagonist because he is worried about his secretive American wife. Together with an awestruck Dr Watson, Holmes follows Mr Munro to the countryside to solve the little problem.

Another typical feature is the description of a churlish servant, “a tall, gaunt woman with a harsh, forbidding face” and the good, little wife who cannot tell a lie without trembling and fidgeting. The mysterious cottage and the old secret that seems to haunt Mrs Munro are other well-known aspects.

Two things are unusual, however. Sherlock Holmes is not exactly proud of his own performance, and we meet a foreigner who is both handsome and intelligent!

X for Xenophobia

A contribution to Kerrie´s alphabet meme, written by a not very famous writer.

She stretches out her hand towards the tomatoes. Her sleeve brushes gaudy, tropical fruit and her nose twitches at the exotic scents. She checks her shopping list. Baked beans and toast. That was it. She sighs with relief.

She steers towards the shortest queue until she sees the black scarf behind the counter. She changes her direction and aims for a fat, British-looking check-out assistant in a bulging smock.

Then she sees the next one. Right behind her, emitting wafts of strange spices. But a man this time. Brown eyes and dark hands with those weird, white palms. For a second the thought hits her, what would it be like to be touched by those hands?

She almost runs towards the exit with her fruit and veggies. Why did she go shopping so late? Her heels clacking on the pavement, she walks home as fast as she can without looking desperate.

A few minutes later she turns into the gateway back home. Finally safe! The bulb has fused again so it is pitch dark, but never mind, she knows the last steps like the back of her own hand. Her feet tread confidently on the cobblestones until he jumps out of the shadows and puts a strong arm around her neck.

A drunken voice hisses in her ear, “where´s your money?”

Her knees buckle and a taste of blood and bile rises in her throat.

“Let her go.”

“Wha´?”

In a daze of nausea she realizes there are two of them! And then comes the muted whisper which will haunt her for the rest of her life.

“Can´t you see it´s your sister. Let her go.”