Louise Doughty, Honey-Dew aka An English Murder (1998)

This British novel is the writer´s third. The genre is called satirical cozy, or cozy noir.

The peaceful environment in dusty Nether Bowston may point toward cozy mystery, but the story of Gemma Cowper who fails her O-levels and whose father is far too keen on protecting her against the world out there is unsettling. The tone and setting are old-fashioned, but surprisingly scary. And then both parents are stabbed to death, and Gemma vanishes.

The narrator, Alison Akenside, is a local journalist who lives close to the Cowpers. She has led a quiet single life, but she sees the murders as her one-time chance to have a scoop. And we soon learn that Alison and her family also have plenty of skeletons in the cupboard.

Unfortunately, the book is an uneven performance. On the plus side the first part and the environment are wonderfully sinister, and there is more psychological insight in the characters than in most cozies, but the ending is a bit of a let-down as there is not enough new information for my taste.

I bought the book myself. Reviewed for the 2010 Cozy Mystery Challenge # 3.

Bernadette´s review.

Thy´s Day # 14

I had planned to show you our pretty anemones today,
but I have run into camera problems
so here you have last month´s books and flowers instead.

DJ´s Bait in the Box # 63

Have you read this crime novel which is from another millennium – but only just:

“It was four days before the bodies were discovered, by which time Mr Cowper had begun to mottle. He was lying underneath the kitchen window, where the sunlight caught him every afternoon. Sunlight and corpses do not mix.”


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.

Sunshine Award

A blog whose “contagious positivity and creativity inspire others in the blogging universe.”

My, that sounds great, doesn´t it?

My kind and generous blogging friend, Margot, Confessions of a Mystery Novelist, has sent the beautiful award with the flattering epithets my way. Thank you very much for sending me some sunshine, Margot!

I have decided not to pass it on this time, partly because she has already awarded several of my blog buddies, partly because I am still struggling with my boring protagonist. Thank you for all your brilliant suggestions, but if you have not chipped in already, please remember to do so.


Library Discovery:

For the first time in months I have had time to haunt my local library. Terribly tempting because since the last time, they have expanded the crime section which is now twice as large as before! (Need I tell you how much my back hurts now?)

Apart from several Scandinavian treats I selected this one:
Raymond Khoury, The Sign (2009)

I am not at all sure this book is my taste so who can guess why I was pleased to find it on the shelf?

Creating Characters

Right now I am revising a Danish manuscript of 85,000 words so this is a process that takes some times.

One of the problems is my protagonist. She is a 29-year-old middle class girl, and to be honest, she is a bit of a bore. She is interested in history and genealogy (like I am so that is not the boring part, of course), and she is intelligent though she is still a bit immature. Besides, she has several problems to cope with as she is unemployed, her father is ill and … No, I won´t give you that one. Who knows, maybe you will have the chance to read the full story one day.

What kind of things do you want to know about a protagonist? What could she be interested in? Does she dream of children, marriage and mortgage, or is that too early?

Some writers are excellent at creating vivid, three-dimensional characters that seem just as real as your neighbour. What exactly is it they do?

Any suggestions, ideas and tricks of the trade are most welcome.

Denise Mina, Resolution (2001)

This Scottish novel is the third part of the Garnethill trilogy. Reviews of Garnethill and Exile.

After the first two, I had great expectations to the grand finale, and the first page sounds promising, don´t you think?

“The police were out there. Angus didn´t know what they were going to charge him with yet. He guessed the murders and not the rapes. They didn´t have any good witnesses for the rapes.”

When this volume begins, Maureen is waiting for the trial of Angus Farrell who killed her lover, Douglas. Maureen has spent the money Douglas left her without knowing she would be taxed so she has begun selling cigarettes from a stall together with her loyal friend, Leslie, to pay her debt. Soon an old stallholder, Ella McGee, disappears from the market, and Maureen discovers that she has been assaulted. Even though Ella seems to be on the mend, Maureen takes a keen interest in her son, Simon McGee´s affairs. And last, but not least, she is waiting for the birth of her sister´s baby, dreading the thought of a new baby in the family with her father on the lose.

The Garnethill trilogy is a brilliant crime series, but it is also a wonderful and realistic portrayal of life down among the women. Maureen and her friends know that the police will swoop down on the perpetrator as soon as someone has committed a crime, but who is there to save them from violence, abuse, poverty and alcoholism? No one but themselves.

In short, this is Scottish crime when it is best!

Martin Edwards, The Serpent Pool (2010)

This British crime novel is the fourth Hannah Scarlett and Daniel Kind story.

As indicated in my bait quotation, the story begins when affluent George Saffell is trapped in a fire together with his beloved collection of books.

A few weeks later, on New Year´s Eve, DCI Hannah Scarlett and her partner Marc Amos meet Saffell´s widow and many of the other people who are involved in this plot. The host is the ruthless lawyer Stuart Wagg, Louise Kind´s latest conquest – or is it the other way round?

Workwise, Hannah Scarlett is involved in the cold case of Bethany Friend, a young woman who drowned in the shallow Serpent Pool six years earlier in what may be suicide or murder. Soon Hannah begins to suspect there is a connection between her case and the new murder case.

As usual in the series, Daniel gets involved in the murders, partly because of Louise´s relationship with Stuart Wagg, partly because of his job. And as Hannah and Marc´s private problems are escalating, it is very tempting for her to discuss the case with Daniel who is single again after Miranda left him and the cottage for glittering London.

Not unexpectedly, this was an exciting and very well-written crime novel. Martin Edwards is in great shape!

The book is a birthday present.