Season of Darkness: Maureen Jennings

I enjoy reading crime fiction books about World War II. I like vintage mysteries written anytime from the 1930's up through 1955, covering the lead-up to the war and the years following the war. I also read a lot of historical fiction set in those years. This book is in the latter group.

Summary from the back the paperback edition:

Tom Tyler is the sole detective inspector in Whitchurch, Shropshire. The quiet village is also home to an internment camp where many German nationals are being held in this hot summer of 1940, mere months after the disaster of Dunkirk and with the threat of a German invasion looming. Young women from all walks of life -- known as Land Girls -- have come to help farmers during this dark time, and one, Elsie Bates, has just been found dead on a deserted country road, with a German Luger and a spray of white poppies by her side.

Here we have a story of a small village in turmoil, with the war increasing everyone's anxiety. There is a murder and many people want to blame the internees. Tyler's investigation is hampered by the possible involvement of his family and friends and the existence of an intelligence group investigating possible spies in the area.

Tom Tyler's home life is a shambles. His son has returned from Dunkirk, damaged and uncommunicative. His teenage daughter is at a difficult age in a difficult time. And his relationship with his wife has never been very good. In the midst of all this, his ex-lover comes back into town, adding more difficult choices to his life.

I enjoyed this book, with its story of a small village in the UK in World War II. The depiction the internment camp and the home where the Land Girls were living both seemed realistic and fit well within the overall story and the investigation. The presence of a murder investigation highlights the confusion and uncertainty in the village resulting from the tensions of the war.

Tom Tyler is not a lovable character; he is selfish and self-absorbed, but he does care about his family and especially his kids. On the other hand, he is not damaged, just going through a difficult time in his life. The important characters were very well drawn. None of them were perfect, which is pretty close to reality, at any time period.

What I did not care for was the love interest sub-plot between Tyler and his old lover. The sub-plot was realistic enough and it did fit within the mystery plot but still, it just did not appeal to me.

As far as a recommendation, I am torn. If this type of story appeals to you and you like the historical setting, it is definitely worth a try. There are three in the series and a fourth is in the works. I plan to read the next one for sure.

Jennings has written another police procedural series, the Detective Murdoch series, set in Toronto, Canada in the 1890's. That series has been turned into a television series, Murdoch Mysteries.

About this author at Goodreads:

Maureen Jennings, now a Canadian Citizen, was born on Eastfield Road in Birmingham, England and spent her formative years there until she emigrated to Canada at the age of seventeen with her mother.

And in this interview, in The Birmingham Post:

Her father Bert, a carpenter, died in the war when she was four. He was a sapper killed during the Italian Campaign at Anzio Beachhead in 1944. Maureen’s mother Betty worked as a cook to support the family while Maureen was a pupil at Saltley Grammar School.

 -----------------------------

Publisher:  McClelland & Stewart, 2011
Length:     396 pages
Format:    Trade Paperback
Series:      Detective Inspector Tom Tyler Mystery
Setting:     Small village, England, World War II
Genre:      Police procedural, historical mystery
Source:     Purchased

7th annual Canadian Book Challenge: Summary post

This year I participated in the 7th annual Canadian Book Challenge. This is an online reading challenge hosted by The Book Mine Set: the Book Blog with a Canadian Bias. Participants from Canada and around the world aim to read and review 13 or more Canadian books in a one year span: July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014. A Canadian book is a book written by a Canadian author or set in Canada.

This was my 2nd year participating in the challenge. I read only 10 books for the challenge this year, but I was happy with that accomplishment.

I read these books for the challenge this year:

Unholy Ground by John Brady

The author was born in Dublin but immigrated to Canada at the age of 20. The first book in the series won the Arthur Ellis award for Best First Novel. The next four books in the series were all finalists for the Arthur Ellis award for Best Novel. The protagonist is Matt Minogue, a Detective Sergeant in the Murder Squad, a division of the Gardai, the Irish police force. The death of a elderly resident of Dublin is being investigated; he appears to be merely a British citizen who had settled in Ireland. It turns out he was connected to MI5 in the United Kingdom. This book was published in 1989, and is set in Dublin, Ireland. Thus the political issues in Ireland at the time are a big factor.

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley

Speaking from Among the Bones by Alan Bradley

The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley 

The 4th, 5th, and 6th books in a series, set in post World War II Britain, in the village of Bishop's Lacey. Flavia narrates the stories. She is the youngest daughter (around 11 years old) in the de Luce family, and lives with her two sisters and their father in an ancient country house.

The Little Shadows by Marina Endicott

The Little Shadows by Marina Endicott is a historical novel set in the years preceding and during World War I. It is the story of three sisters, teenagers as the story begins, who travel with their mother to support the family as a vaudeville act. I loved this book and it is hard to describe why. I was engaged in the story immediately. I loved the way the author switched back and forth between the sisters (especially) and the mother (occasionally). This book covers the years from 1912-1917 and thus World War I figures a great deal. That was also a plus for me. I like to learn about wars in a fictional setting.

Under the Dragon's Tail by Maureen Jennings

This is the second book in the Murdoch Mysteries series, published by Maureen Jennings in 1998, and featuring William Murdoch, an Acting Detective in Toronto in the late 1800's. Maureen Jennings does a wonderful job of portraying Victorian-era Toronto.

We also get well-developed and interesting characters. Without dwelling on Murdoch's past, the author conveys how his childhood has affected him, and his continuing grief for his fiancee who died of typhoid, at the same time he yearns for a relationship with a woman. Maybe he is a tad too perfect, but I can live with that. Constable George Crabtree, and several of the suspects at varying levels of society are also well-defined; their portrayals contribute to the overall portrait of the city, its poverty and its inhabitants. 

The Night the Gods Smiled by Eric Wright

Eric Wright was born in 1929 in South London, England and immigrated to Canada in 1951. He is an academic; he taught English at Ryerson Polytechnic University, Toronto from 1958  to 1989. Four of his novels have been awarded the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel, including this one. 

This book gives us some insight into the relationship between the French areas of Canada and the English speaking areas. Toronto police detective Charlie Salter is assigned as liaison to a case of murder that takes place in Montreal, because the victim is from Toronto. It is the kind of case that his department doesn't have the time or inclination to deal with, so it is passed down to him. He is thrilled to get it, since he has been working essentially as a "gofer". He works with Sergeant Henri O'Brien from Montreal, and they develop a nice relationship along the way.

In the Shadow of the Glacier by Vicki Delany

This mystery novel is set in the fictional mountain town of Trafalgar, British Columbia. Constable Molly Smith is assigned to assist veteran Detective Sergeant John Winters in a murder investigation. Although Molly (also know as "Moonlight") is a rookie, she has insider knowledge of the community that Winters does not have; on the other hand she is closely involved with various persons who could be suspects. There were a lot of elements to the story: draft dodgers who had moved to Canada years earlier, ecological issues associated with a resort development, treatment of women in police departments, and the complexity of family relationships and working relationships.

Sleep While I Sing by L. R. Wright

This book is the second in a series by L.R. Wright (1939- 2001). The series features RCMP Staff Sergeant Karl Alberg and is set in a small town on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. This second entry in the series starts with the discovery of a dead woman in a secluded area. The woman remains unidentified. An artist's sketch is made and distributed, but does not generate the identification they were hoping for.

L. R. Wright excels at characterization. Karl is a loner and divorcee who misses his family. He has his problems, but he is happy in his work and good at it. The secondary characters and side plots are interesting. The writing is understated.

The Film Club by David Gilmour

Overview from Dundurn Press: "The Film Club is the true story about David Gilmour's decision to let his 15-year-old son drop out of high school on the condition that the boy agrees to watch three films a week with him. The book examines how those pivotal years changed both their lives." I read this book as much for the commentary on the films watched as for the story of Gilmour's experiences during those years. 

I will be signing up for the 8th Annual Canadian Book Challenge as soon as I read my first Canadian book for the challenge.

Under the Dragon's Tail: Maureen Jennings

This is the second book in the Murdoch Mysteries series, published by Maureen Jennings in 1998, and featuring William Murdoch, an Acting Detective in Toronto in the late 1800's.  I enjoyed the first book in the series, Except the Dying (1997), and I liked this one even more.

Maureen Jennings does a wonderful job of portraying Victorian-era Toronto. As described in this article, she did extensive research into the time period. But in addition to the convincing picture of the times, we also get well-developed and interesting characters. Without dwelling on Murdoch's past, the author conveys how his childhood has affected him, and his continuing grief for his fiancee who died of typhoid, at the same time he yearns for a relationship with a woman. Maybe he is a tad too perfect, but I can live with that. Constable George Crabtree, and several of the suspects at varying levels of society are also well-defined; their portrayals contribute to the overall portrait of the city, its poverty and its inhabitants.

Getting to the mystery, the detective and his constable are investigating the death of a former midwife, living with her grown daughter and two foster children. The suspects come from a well-to-do family and from the lower echelons of society. To the reader, it is somewhat obvious who the culprit is likely to be, yet the author kept me guessing. And the story had a very good pace, never lagging.

In 2004, three made-for-TV movies were produced and televised, based on the first three books in the series. Later, in 2008, a television series (with new actors in the parts) began and has continued for seven seasons.  I watched the TV movies and a few episodes of the 2008 series before I read the books. As I read the first two books in this series, my only disappointment has been that the forensics that are emphasized in the TV movie adaptations were not featured more in the books (those that I have read so far). Dr. Julia Ogden, who is featured in both the TV movies and the later TV series, only shows up briefly in this second book. Nevertheless, I found this book to be very enjoyable on its own merits.

Under the Dragon's Tail (2004), Shaftesbury Films Inc., Toronto, Ontario
Cast: Peter Outerbridge, Flora Montgomery, Matthew MacFadzean

The three made-for-TV movies were televised in a slightly different order than the first three books. Under the Dragon's Tail is the second book in the series; the adaptation of this story was the third movie televised. Dr. Julia Odgen features heavily in the first two movies, but is only mentioned in the this adaptation.

The TV movie based on this book is a fine adaptation, but it does change the story quite a bit. The basic outline of the story is retained, and the picture of Toronto in the 1890's is well done. There is, however, much more emphasis on forensics, such as the use of fingerprints, or finger marks as they are called in the movie. This was an emerging science at the time, and an interesting topic to introduce into the story. My take on adaptations of books or series is that sometimes you end up with something entirely different, but that can be fine as long as the adaptation works well on its own. I think this one does. I don't want to go into more detail about the differences in the movie, so that I don't spoil it for anyone who ends up watching the movie (or reading the book).

This book and movie review is submitted for Katie’s 2014 Book to Movie Challenge at Doing Dewey and for the 7th annual Canadian Book Challenge sponsored by John Mutford at The Book Mine Set.

Planned Parenthood Book Sale 2013 (Part 2)

A final post to highlight some of our purchases at the book sale.My husband and son are much more restrained than I. Here are lists of some of their purchases.

My son is into fantasy novels, and his choices reflect that.

Dread Brass Shadows by Glen Cook
In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker
Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
The Callahan Chronicles by Spider Robinson
The Road to Mars: A Post-Modem Novel by Eric Idle
Deathstalker by Simon R. Green

The first two of those are of particular interest to me. The Glen Cook novel is part of a series about a human P.I. in a world of fantasy. In the Garden of Iden is a time travel novel and the first in the Company series.

My husband's tastes fall in many genres:

Fiction:

truecrime by Jake Arnott
Homer & Langley by E.L. Doctorow
Devil Said Bang by Richard Kadrey
A Weekend at Blenheim by J.P. Morrissey
The Informer by Akimitsu Takagi
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
Eddy Deco's Last Caper: An Illustrated Mystery by Gahan Wilson

Nonfiction:

Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies by Ben McIntyre
Operation Mincemeat by Ben McIntyre
L.A. Noir: The City as Character by Alain Silver & James Ursini

Of these books, most hold some interest, with the possible exception of The Little Stranger, which may be too creepy and tense for me. L.A. Noir, about film noir set in Los Angeles, is on my list to read soon.

And the following books, with cover images, are some of my favorites that I found at the sale:

 
Sugar Skull (2003) by Denise Hamilton

Los Angeles Times reporter Eve Diamond usually works out of the paper's San Gabriel Valley bureau, but she's taking a weekend shift downtown when a distraught Vincent Chevalier breaks through security and demands her help. His fifteen-year-old daughter, Isabel, is missing, and the cops won't go looking for her until forty-eight hours have passed.

This book fits into my collection of books with skulls or skeletons on the cover. I have the first book in the series (unread) so I didn't buy it only for the cover.

Sugar skulls are decorations used for Day of the Dead celebrations. Usually they are edible, but the skulls are generally used for decorative purposes.

Dia de los Muertos or the “Day of the Dead” is a Mexican religious holiday. The celebrations start on November 1st, the day after Halloween. See more information on Day of the Dead or Dia de los Muertas at this site.

Photo by Nathaniel C. Sheetz at Wikipedia Commons.

Capital Crimes (2011) by Laura Wilson

From the author's web site:

It is winter in London in the early 1950s: John Davies confesses to strangling his wife and baby daughter. It promises to be a depressingly straightforward case for DI Ted Stratton of West End Central. When Davies recants, blaming respectable neighbour Norman Backhouse for the crimes, nobody, including Stratton, sees any reason to believe him. Davies is convicted and hanged. But after a series of gruesome discoveries, Stratton begins to suspect that there has been a terrible miscarriage of justice. 

A Capital Crime is based on two of the most notorious cases of the 1950s.

Reaper Man (1991) by Terry Pratchett

I know very little about the Discworld series, but I collect books with skeletons or skulls on the cover. And I will give this one a try, just to see what it is all about. What I am not sure about is whether I should read any other book in the series first. This was the eleventh published, but I understand that they are grouped into sub-series.

An Uncertain Place (2008) by Fred Vargas

Another book in the Commissaire Adamsberg mystery series. The link points to a list of the books in order at EuroCrime, which also has links to reviews.

This is the 6th in the series. I have read the first two and have the 5th one. So still looking for the 3rd and 4th ones (Have Mercy on Us All and Wash this Blood Clean from My Hand).
.

Death in a Cold Climate (2012) by Barry Forshaw

From the back cover of my edition:
'Death in a Cold Climate is a comprehensive and authoritative guide to the fictional underbelly of the Nordic psyche, whose popularity has become the publishing sensation of the century. Perceptive, witty and awesomely well-researched.' - Andrew Taylor, author of The American Boy

I have this book in e-book format and have read about two-thirds of it but I wanted a paper copy for easier access when I want to look up an author.
See Sarah's Review at Crimepieces
And an interview at the Rap Sheet blog

Slip of the Knife (2007) by Denise Mina
Also published as The Last Breath in the UK

Paddy Meehan has it all: flash car, flat, job as Scotland's leading columnist, and giant packet of biscuits all to herself, but the groggy bliss of a Saturday night in front of the TV is shattered when the police knock politely on her door, smiling sadly when she answers it. Someone close to her has died, but she's staggered when they tell her who it is.

This is the third novel in the Paddy Meehan series. Denise Mina has three series: the Garnethill series, the Paddy Meehan series, and the Alex Morrow series. I have read none of her books yet but I have read a lot of praise regarding her writing.

Poor Tom is Cold by Maureen Jennings

The third book in the Detective Murdoch series. My husband found this lovely hardback edition for me.  I have read the 1st one and have a copy of the second one on order.

Per a review at Publisher's Weekly:
The plethora of historical mysteries makes it difficult for a writer to carve out a time and place uniquely her own. However, Jennings has laid strong claim to the Toronto of the late 19th-century with the Anthony award-winning Except the Dying and Under the Dragon's Tail, and she cements her hold with this deft combination of mystery and social issues.

The Midnight Choir by Gene Kerrigan

I have one other book by this author (unread). The book is The Rage, and it had been highly recommended at several blogs. So when I saw this Europa edition in good condition at the book sale, I could not pass it up.

Description at Europa Editions:
A sophisticated crime story of contemporary Ireland, The Midnight Choir teems with moral dilemmas and Dublin emerges as a city of ambiguity: a newly-scrubbed face hiding a criminal culture of terrible variety.

First Wife, Twice Removed by Clare Curzon

I actually had another copy of this book, a mass market paperback. But this one with the skeleton hand I just had to have. I have been searching for years for earlier books in this series to start with, but now have decided I will read this one -- the eighth book in a series of twenty four books -- and see what I think.

Description from Fantastic Fiction:
Two disturbing deaths have Superintendent Mike Yeading's team spread out from the Thames Valley to Amsterdam looking for answers. As the investigations of the separate incidents develop in sinister parallel, the people of the Thames Police Force will confront more untimely death before tangled skeins come together to create a diabolical tapestry of murder.

E is for Except the Dying by Maureen Jennings

From the Publisher's Weekly review of the book:

In this exhilarating first novel, Jennings creates more than a period mystery: she brings alive 1895 Toronto, struggling economically, teeming with immigrants and thick with paupers. William Murdoch is the police department's sole detective, a new rank. Investigating the murder of Therese Laporte, a young servant, leads the intelligent, observant Murdoch through a stratified society, from the gloomy rooms of prostitutes Alice Black and Ettie Weston to the elegant home of the Rhodes family, Therese's employers, and the exclusive Yeoman Club.

Based on what I have read, the picture of Toronto in 1895 is well done in this book.  But what I liked most about this book is the way the story is told, and the development of characters. William Murdoch is an Acting Detective, ambitious and intelligent. He wants to move up in rank, and he hopes this case will bring him some attention. The author takes us through the investigation slowly, introducing us to  the individuals involved. She describes the prejudices of the time and the hardships that the poorer inhabitants of Toronto lived with.

There was much more depth of character and richness of plot than I expected in a first novel.

Inspector Brackenreid, Murdoch's superior, is the son of an Irish immigrant and has known hardship in his youth.

Before his demons overtook him, he had been a shrewd, hard-working man with a certain meticulousness about detail that served him well. Now, those qualities were more and more obscured.

As inspector, Brackenreid wore a fine wool jacket with brocade epaulettes and frogs down the front. Murdoch could see stains on the brocade and even across the table he could smell the beery stink of the man's breath.

Donalda Rhodes is the wealthy mistress of the household where the dead girl worked. Initially it appears that Therese has left voluntarily. Donalda is quite fond of the girl and is unhappy that she has left without a word.

Edith went into the adjacent dressing room. Donalda was glad to be out of her sight. She could feel tears stinging at the back of her eyes. Inappropriate tears, she knew, but the anguish of her dream was still close and she was hurt by Theresa's callous behavior. In spite of the inequality between them she thought there had been real affection. She was obviously wrong.

Throughout the book we gradually learn more of the heartaches that Donalda has suffered, even though she lives a comfortable life as the wife of a doctor.

I initially became interested in Murdoch Mysteries when I discovered that several of the books had been adapted as TV movies for Canadian television. Although both the TV movies and books show the grim and dark side of Toronto of the time period, the adaptations feature more use of science and forensics in solving the crimes. I expected this aspect to show up in this first book in the series and it did not, to any extent.

Just as an aside, I did not like the cover of this book. I don't especially like book covers that feature pictures from a movie or TV show adaptation, in general. But in this case, the characters that are shown on the cover are characters from the TV show. And the women pictured have nothing to do with the plot of this novel. I am aware that it is probably the popularity of the TV show that has allowed for the reprint editions of this series, which is a very good thing. But the pictures on the cover should have more to do with the plot, in my opinion.

I recommend this book and plan to continue reading the series.

This post is an entry for the Crime Fiction Alphabet for 2013.  Please visit the post at Mysteries in Paradise to check out other entries for this letter. This year, I plan to stick to the theme of authors or books in the sub-genre of police procedurals.

This book is the ninth book I have read for the Canadian Book Challenge 6.