The Infernal Detective: Kirsten Weiss

Book description from the author's website:

When Riga Hayworth finds a dead body in her bedroom a week before her wedding, it’s par for the course. When the corpse drives off with her fiancée… That’s a problem.

Riga knows dead. More intimately than she’d like. So when a murdered photographer gets up and walks away, she’s believes there’s necromancy afoot. And when she discovers that several of her wedding guests are under the influence of dark magic, she’s certain. But how can she catch a killer and stop a necromancer when even her nearest and dearest are lying to her?

Murder. The undead. Irritating relatives. The Infernal Detective is a fast-paced, paranormal mystery, based in Lake Tahoe.

This is a humorous, light mystery, laced with paranormal elements. Riga Hayworth looks a lot like Rita Hayworth and people are always telling her this. So from that point, you know this is not a totally serious, hard hitting mystery. Some of the characters are a little bit over the top. There are two ditsy aunts and a mobster who is stalking her. Riga has a niece who is pretty normal; a teenager who wants to learn to use her powers.

I don't really want to tell much more about the plot than the overview above... so as not to spoil the fun of reading the book. I will say that Riga is 44 and thus has some maturity. She has a Private Investigator's license, but it is for California and she is living in Nevada. Thus I did find that it was believable for her to investigate a crime on her own.

I did not read the first three books in this series, and this is a departure for me. I am usually rigid about reading in order. Luckily, in this case, I was able to enter into the spirit of the book with the background that is provided. The author did a pretty good job of providing just enough information without spending a lot of exposition on her past.  I did have questions about how Riga got to her present situation, and that will send me back to the earlier books to see.

As I noted, this is a light mystery and it is clearly in the fantasy genre. So not a typical read for me. I would call this a cozy, also not typical for me. But I was entertained by the story and Riga's predicaments. She is a take-charge person and not timid at all. My prejudice in the past has been that paranormal gifts give the detective an unfair advantage, thus taking the tension out of the story. Not in this case, however.

I would recommend this for readers of paranormal mysteries or urban fantasy. Although this is not a Young Adult novel, I think it would work well for young adults.

This book was provided for review by the author.

This book is submitted for the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril VIII event, hosted by Stainless Steel Droppings. That event celebrates reading of books of mystery, suspense, and horror. The event continues through October 31, 2013. Reviews for that event are here.

The Square of Revenge: Pieter Aspe

This book by Pieter Aspe is the first novel in a long-running popular mystery series set in Bruges, Belgium. It was first published in 1995, but was only published in an English language edition this year. The novel opens with the apparent robbery of an upscale jewelry store. Sergeant Guido Versavel and another policeman discover the situation toward the end of their nightshift while patroling the neighborhood. Several persons are called to the scene of the crime.

Newly appointed Deputy Public Prosecutor Hannelore Martens is called into the case somewhat prematurely. It is her first case and she is eager to get involved and worried about what her correct role is. Ghislain Degroof, the proprietor of Degroof Diamonds and Jewelry, is awakened early to find that his establishment has been broken into. His father, Ludovic Degroof, is a very rich and powerful man in Bruges.

After the scene has been evaluated, it is discovered that all of the jewelry has been destroyed, not stolen. The owner and the police are mystified. The chief commissioner of the police calls in Commissioner Van In, an experienced detective who would not normally be his first choice. The elder Degroof has enough pull to tell the Police Commissioner to hold back on the effort to apprehend the culprits.

And here begins a tale of revenge... Further crimes are committed, affecting the Degroof family, and the stakes get higher and higher. Soon the police cannot ignore the investigation.

I enjoyed this book for several reasons. Some books are strong in plot development, but not so good with characterization. Some books focus on characterization, and the plot gets lost. This book strikes a good balance.

The tone was light, and entertaining. Usually I like a more serious tone, but this book kept me involved. Hannelore Martens and Commissioner Van In are unusual protagonists for a police procedural.  They develop an unlikely partnership.

I liked reading a story set in Belgium and especially Bruges. I know very little about that area, but I had seen the movie In Bruges, so I knew what a storybook city that is, as the movie constantly reminds one. There are crime fiction authors from Belgium (Georges Simenon, for one) and at least some of the Henry Castang series by Nicholas Freeling is set in Brussels, but this is the first series set in Belgium or Bruges that I have encountered.

One of the things I learned from this book, and from an interview with the author at the Publisher's Weekly website, is that Belgium is divided into a Dutch part, known as Flanders, and a French part, known as Wallonia. In that interview, Pieter Aspe describes Belgians as he sees them:

Belgians are what we call “bourgondisch.” It means that they enjoy life, including good food and a nice drink. We also have a café culture, so we often go for a drink in the nearest pub. In the end, I think Belgians, when it comes down to culture, are more like the Spanish, French, or Italian. In contrast to Van In, Dutch, German, and Scandinavian detectives are more cold and businesslike.

And definitely, in this book, everyone eats and drinks with relish.

One unusual thing about this book was that there is no murder to be investigated. It is definitely a crime novel, and there are crimes solved in this book, but I did wonder for about half of the book when the death would occur. Margot at Confessions of a Mystery Novelist... recently posted a very interesting overview of a book by two French authors which also did not included the investigation of a death: Jean-Pierre Alaux and Nöel Balen’s Treachery in Bordeaux. Maybe this is more common in European mysteries?

In the reviews section of the Amazon page for The Square of Revenge, this reviewer comment is cited: “A very likable and very politically incorrect group of detectives. Humor is permanent, the plot is well constructed, and the whole story is extremely exotic.” I agree. The series has been compared to the Maigret series by Georges Simenon. I don't agree with that, but I haven't read Simenon in a long time.

The second book in the series, The Midas Murders, will be published in the US in December 2013. The Square of Revenge is not perfect by any means, but it is well done for the first book in a series. I plan to read the next book in the series to follow up on the entertaining and charming characters.

This book was provided for review by Open Road Integrated Media via NetGalley.

Also reviewed here:
FictionFan's Book Reviews
Raven Crime Reads
Patrice's Reading Corner

Ebook Challenge 2013

The 2013 Ebook Challenge is a new one for me. We only purchased a tablet and got the Kindle App in September of this year. And we recently purchased the Kindle Paperwhite. I have read two fiction books in e-book format and am in the middle of one non-fiction book.

As described at the Workaday Reads blog, the goal is "Encouraging readers to expand past just physical books to embrace ebooks in all forms, whether on Kindle, Kobo, computer, or any other reader."

Challenge Guidelines:

1. This challenge will run from Jan 1, 2013 – Dec 31, 2013.
2. Anyone can join, you don’t need to be a blogger. If you don’t have a blog, feel free to sign-up in the comments. You can post reviews to any book site (i.e. Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, Goodreads, etc).
3. Any genre or length of book counts, as long as it is in ebook format.
4. You can plan your books in advance or as you read them.
5. When you sign up in the linky, put the direct link to your post about joining the E-Book Reading Challenge.
6. You can move up levels, but no moving down.
7. Sign-ups will be open until Dec 15, 2013, so feel free to join at any time throughout the year.

At the beginning of each month there will be a roundup post for you to add your reviews for that month.

There are levels, and they range from 5 books to 150 books (Wow!).  Check in here to sign up if you want to join in.

I am going to sign up at the Floppy disk level = 5 e-books.  I am already overextended on challenges and I don't want to push myself too hard.

These are the e-books I have read this year:

 Old Man's War by John Scalzi
The Loyal Servant by Eva Hudson