I is for The Information Officer

My submission for the Crime Fiction Alphabet for 2012 is The Information Officer by Mark Mills. Visit the post at Mysteries in Paradise to check out other entries for the letter I.

I finished this novel in late June and I enjoyed both the setting and the story. This book successfully weaves a story about the war as it affected Malta with a hunt for a serial killer.

Description from the book flap:

Summer 1942: Malta, a small windswept island in the Mediterranean, has become the most bombed patch of earth on the planet, worse even than London during the Blitz. The Maltese, a fiercely independent people, withstand the relentless Axis air raids.

Max Chadwick is the British officer charged with manipulating the news on Malta to bolster the population's fragile esprit de corps.

Mark Mills writes mysteries set in the past. His first novel, Amagansett, was set in 1947 in that small town on the South Shore of Long Island, New York. It focuses on the changes in the culture of that area following the war. The second novel, The Savage Garden, is also set in the post-war years, in the late 1950's. It features an architecture student who is in Tuscany working on his thesis. I have not read either of these books, but I am guessing I would like them a lot based on reviews and how much I liked The Information Officer.

What did I like about this book?

I liked reading about Malta during World War II. I had not been aware that Malta had been under siege during the war because of its strategic location, and the descriptions of the situation that both the islanders and the military staff had to endure were eye-opening for me. I enjoy many kinds of mysteries, but in the last few years, reading novels set in World War II has become a passion. In addition to historical novels, I enjoy vintage mysteries written during and around the years of that war, for the picture of how the war affected day-to-day life.

I liked the characters. Mainly the protagonist. His characteristics and motivations were more fully fleshed out than other characters. I appreciated the picture of women during that time and the opportunities they had to step out of established roles.

On the other hand, the actual crime being investigated is not my favorite choice. This story focuses on the search for a serial killer attacking young women on the island. Figuring out who did it and how is sometimes less interesting because it is usually a compulsion, a need the killer has to fill. I prefer the motivation to be more subtle: money, love, power. However, I liked the story surrounding the mystery.

There is a love story of sorts, and the relationships of men and women are examined. Especially within this time period. The picture of military life seemed realistic to me. There is sex, but it is handled well.

Mark Mills has a fourth mystery novel, House of the Hanged, published this year in the US.  This most recent novel is set in the pre-war years, on the France Riviera, 1935, and the protagonist has left a career in the Secret Intelligence Service. Another one that is right up my alley. Spies and pre-World War II years.

At the author's website, he has a nice description of what led him to write each book (at the end of the page about each book).
Crimeficreader at It's a Crime (or a Mystery...) has mixed reactions to The Information Officer, but really liked The Savage Garden.

New-to-me Authors

Today I am joining in on the meme on best new-to-me crime fiction authors 2012 at Mysteries in Paradise. The goal is to share authors that are new-to-us this year, especially the ones we liked. This meme runs at the end of each quarter. Check out other posts for this quarter.



This quarter I have read books by five authors that I have never read before. None of them are new authors. Several of them have established continuing series.

1. The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo
2. Cop Hater by Ed McBain
3. In the Woods by Tana French
4. The Guards by Ken Bruen
5. The Information Officer by Mark Mills

I enjoyed all of these books. The first four books are in series and I plan to seek out the next book or two in the series to read.

The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo is a complex police procedural, following the story of a Norwegian detective investigating neo-Nazi activities in Oslo, with flashbacks to events during World War II on the Eastern Front. There is a large cast of characters and they are convincingly portrayed. I cared about what was happening to them. I liked the short chapters and the headings for each chapter noting time and place. Nesbo has written nine Harry Hole novels, and this is the third in the series. As yet, the first two in the series have not been published in English. I did not find it difficult to start the series with this book, although there were references to earlier exploits.

The Guards by Ken Bruen is another police procedural. However, the style of writing in that book is very different. It is a dark and bleak book. But it was one of my favorite reads of this year. Jack Taylor was in the Garda Síochána (the police force of the Republic of Ireland), and thrown out because of serious problems with alcohol. He becomes, almost accidentally, a finder, a sort of private detective. One element of the writing is frequent mentions of books, especially mystery novels, and quotes interspersed here and there, often with no apparent connection to the story.  The mystery portion of the plot is slight. The emphasis in more on Jack, his relationships, his life, his battle with alcohol. It isn't a happy book, but it isn't depressing either.



Yes, I read my first book from 87th Precinct series by Ed McBain in May of this year. I anticipated liking the series, and I was not disappointed. The first chapter pulled me into the book immediately.  Although parts of the book were heavy on descriptive sequences, I did find the story compelling and I liked the portrayal of the policemen. They were not perfect, but generally they seemed believable.

It seems that most of the books by new authors I have read recently are police procedurals. That is a sub-genre that appeals to me. As McBain says in his introduction to the book: "In fiction, there is always a quantum jump to be made when anyone but a police detective is investigating a murder."

The only book that was not a police procedural was a historical mystery set on the island of Malta during World War II: The Information Officer by Mark Mills. I just finished that book and enjoyed both the setting and the story.

The main character in this book is in charge of reporting on the events of the war on Malta and controlling and influencing the morale of the islanders. This book successfully weaves a story about the war as it affected Malta with a hunt for a serial killer.

Mysteries in June and Pick of the Month

My total number of mysteries read this month was down drastically from the previous month.  I  finished only four mysteries, although I  also read two mystery reference books. Not sure why my reading was down, I enjoyed all the books. Work was intensive and demanding; maybe I came home with less energy and little desire to use my brain.

The mystery reference books were: Whodunit? A Who's Who in Crime & Mystery Writing by Rosemary Herbert and Hatchards Crime Companion, edited by Susan Moody.

The mysteries I read this month were:

1. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie 
2. An Empty Death by Laura Wilson 
3. Fer-de-Lance by Rex Stout 
4. The Information Officer by Mark Mills 

The Crime Fiction Pick of the Month meme is hosted at Mysteries in Paradise. Kerrie encourages bloggers to link summary posts for the month, and identify a crime fiction best read of the month. My problem this month is that I liked all of the crime fiction reads. It is difficult to pick one to recommend as the most outstanding book. 

An Empty Death and The Information Officer are both historical novels set in World War II. Murder on the Orient Express was published in the same year as Fer-de-Lance. So all of my mystery reading for the month was set during or prior to World War II. Refer to my reviews to see why I like them so much.


I have not reviewed The Information Officer by Mark Mills yet so I will give a brief overview. The story is set on the island of Malta during World War II. The island is under siege and all its inhabitants are threatened day and night with bombing raids. The protagonist is in charge of reporting on the events of the war on Malta and controlling and influencing the morale of the islanders. I liked how the book blends history and a whodunit.

 

Fer-de-Lance by Rex Stout is my favorite mystery book ever, so by rights it should be my pick. This is the first book in the Nero Wolfe series, narrated by my favorite mystery character, Archie Goodwin. The story is complex and entertaining.