Dust (2013) by Patricia Cornell

Massachusetts Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta has just returned from working one of the worst mass murders in U.S. history when she’s awakened at an early hour by Detective Pete Marino.
A body, oddly draped in an unusual cloth, has just been discovered inside the sheltered gates of MIT and it’s suspected the identity is that of missing computer engineer Gail Shipton, last seen the night before at a trendy Cambridge bar. It appears she’s been murdered, mere weeks before the trial of her $100 million lawsuit against her former financial managers, and Scarpetta doubts it’s a coincidence. She also fears the case may have a connection with her computer genius niece, Lucy.

At a glance there is no sign of what killed Gail Shipton, but she’s covered with a fine dust that under ultraviolet light fluoresces brilliantly in three vivid colors, what Scarpetta calls a mineral fingerprint. Clearly the body has been posed with chilling premeditation that is symbolic and meant to shock, and Scarpetta has reason to worry that the person responsible is the Capital Murderer, whose most recent sexual homicides have terrorized Washington, D.C. Stunningly, Scarpetta will discover that her FBI profiler husband, Benton Wesley, is convinced that certain people in the government, including his boss, don’t want the killer caught.

In Dust, Scarpetta and her colleagues are up against a force far more sinister than a sexual predator who fits the criminal classification of a "spectacle killer." The murder of Gail Shipton soon leads deep into the dark world of designer drugs, drone technology, organized crime, and shocking corruption at the highest levels.

With unparalleled high-tension suspense and the latest in forensic technology, Patricia Cornwell once again proves her exceptional ability to surprise—and to thrill. (Review thanks to Goodreads)

Note:  I found the novel boring as Cornell seems to be repeating herself from her other Scarpetta novels:  Benton is the tragic, silent Heathcliff character roaming the moors in search of himself, while Kay is the dutiful woman giving him his 'space' and ensuring that his needs are met. Lucy continues to not improve her character or social skills, inventing another high-tech gadget.  Poor Morino is manipulated and insulted by all.

The Phantom by Jo Nesbo

Praise for Phantom (www.jonesbo.co.uk/reviews.asp)

'Jo Nesbo writes tightly plotted, claustrophobic thrillers with plenty of snow and a brutal yet hopelessly romantic policeman hero with the wonderful name of Harry Hole... they’re also exuberantly, ingeniously gruesome’ Sunday Telegraph

‘Like a Scandinavian police version of the Jason Bourne series... a compulsive20page turner... Nesbo leads us into the murky back-streets of Oslo and a world of drug addiction and smuggling, gang warfare and corrupt officialdom – all of which social context is handled with real skill by the author.’ Independent on Sunday
‘Nesbo wrings out the tension, by turns painful and delicious,with consummate skill’ Sunday Express

‘Nesbo’s extraordinary writing power still mesmerises’ The Times
‘Phantom will maintain Jo Nesbo’s unstoppable momentum’ The Independent

‘A brilliant and incredibly fast-paced race through the violin-ravaged of Oslo to uncover who is at the centre of a drugs rung... ex-alcoholic Hole is dealing with more demons than 24’s Jack Bauer ... Sceptics may argue that crime fiction is too sensationalist and that endings are tied up too neatly but Phantom proves them all wrong.  Once you’ve read the conclusion you’ll agree that Nesbo’s writing is far from predictable’ Stylist 

The girl with a clock for a heart (2014) by Peter Swanson

When George first met her, she was an eighteen-year-old college freshman from Sweetgum, Florida. She and George became inseparable in their first fall semester, so George was devastated when he got the news that she had committed suicide over Christmas break. But, as he stood in the living room of the girl's grieving parents, he realized the girl in the photo on their mantelpiece - the one who had committed suicide - was not his girlfriend. Later, he discovered the true identity of the girl he had loved - and of the things she may have done to escape her past.

Now, twenty years later, she's back, and she's telling George that he's the only one who can help her...Thanks to Goodreads for review, June 15/14.

Standing in another man's grave (2012) by Ian Rankin

John Rebus returns to investigate the disappearances of three women from the same road over ten years. For the last decade, Nina Hazlitt has been ready to hear the worst about her daughter's disappearance. But with no sightings, no body, and no suspect, the police investigation ground to a halt long ago, and Nina's pleas to the cold case department have led her nowhere.

Until she meets the newest member of the team: former Detective John Rebus.

Rebus has never shied away from lost causes - one of the many ways he managed to antagonize his bosses when he was on the force. Now he's back as a retired civilian, reviewing abandoned files. Necessary work, but it's not exactly scratching the itch he feels to be in the heart of the action.

Two more women have gone missing from the same road where Sally Hazlitt was last seen. Unlike his skeptical colleagues, Rebus can sense a connection - but pursuing it leads him into the crosshairs of adversaries both old and new.

Rebus may have missed the thrill of the hunt, but he's up against a powerful enemy who's got even less to lose.



Thanks to Goodreads for review June 20, 2014.

Stella Bain (2013) by Anita Shreve

Stella Bain was nursing wounded soldiers on The Front during World War One when she lost her memory.  In an attempt to find out who she was she travelled to England.  Taken in by a doctor and his wife, she made some progress and when she regained her memory, she returned to America to be reunited with her family.  Complications arose.  She fought for her children and her own life.

An entirely readable story, but predictable and not as insigthful as many of the author's other novels.

Annabel (2013) by Kathleen Winter

"Annabel deals with the birth of an intersex baby in rural Newfoundland in 1968. The baby's parents make the difficult decision to raise the child as a boy named Wayne, keeping his feminine side a lifelong secret in the rigidly defined masculine culture. But as Wayne grows up, he can't entirely ignore the feminine presence in his identity. Annabel is an unforgettable novel about one person's struggle to discover the truth in a culture that shuns contradiction."

(CBC, Canada Reads with Sheelagh Rogers, Jan 15, 2014)

Woman with a birthmark (2009) by Hakan Nesser

Photo from Goodreads

This novel is one of the 'Inspector Van Veeteren Mysteries'. Though the novel moves along, it is rather superficial.  Inspector Van Veeteren is not overly involved with the case, but there are many of his staff who are working on solving the crime.  In fact, there are too many characters involved, and not enough of the inspector.

A woman sets out to avenge her mother by killing four men.  She phones them and plays a piece of music, which seems to be the only commonality.  However careful work on the part of the police find that these men all attended a parp-military academy a the same time when they were younger.  Though murder is wrong, one cannot help sympathizing with the woman, Maria, and mourning with her in her mother's life and death.  Good story.

Local Girls (1999) by Alice Hoffman

Let me say how much I love Alice Hoffman's writing!  Her prose is sublime and her insights into human nature are mature beyond her years.  In Local Girls she presents an ordinary tale of a family in an extraordinary way. Gretel is a teenage girl who keeps on living in spite of her mother's cancer, her parent's divorce and her brother 's descent into despair.  Her cousin, Margot, and her best friend, Jill, keep her balanced, in spite of their own difficulties. Themes of betrayal and love are explored with a backdrop of very realistic characters, good and bad.
 B

The leopard (2011) by Jo Nesbo Trans. Don Bartlett

In this electrifying new addition to Jo Nesbø’s internationally acclaimed series, Harry Hole must confront the darkest demons in his city—and in himself.

Inspector Harry Hole has retreated to Hong Kong, escaping the trauma of his last case in squalid opium dens, when two young women are found dead in Oslo, both drowned in their own blood. Media coverage quickly reaches a fever pitch. There are no clues, the police investigation is stalled, and Harry—the one man who might be able to help—can’t be found. After he returns to Oslo, the killer strikes again, Harry’s instincts take over, and nothing can keep him from the investigation, though there is little to go on. Worse, he will soon come to understand that he is dealing with a psychopath who will put him to the test, both professionally and personally as never before. (Goodreads)., as 

The redeemer (2009) Jo Nesbo

Harry Hole is a"maverick detective with a drink problem and predilection for pop music, solving murder cases in the underbelly of a beautiful city: Jo Nesbø's Harry Hole is so Rebus it hurts. But for all the crime cliches and hilarious cliffhangers, The Redeemer is an enjoyably chilly manhunt through Oslo's wintry streets, as the curmudgeonly hero tracks down a Croatian hitman who has seemingly shot the wrong brother. For once, this isn't a gangland murder; it is set instead amid the more refined circles of the Norwegian Salvation Army. But what could have been a taut 350-page thriller is bogged down with reams of unnecessary explanation and masses of psychiatric babble. This fourth instalment in the Hole series is often great fun, but overlong.

The Observer, Saturday 24 October 2009  Ben East.

The Headhunters (2011) by Jo Nesbo

Roger Brown is a corporate headhunter, in fact, one of the best.  But to accommodate his wife's art gallery, he steals art from clients. However, a particular client, Clas Greve, is one step ahead of Roger, seducing his wife to get even closer to Roger. Two murders and the theft of a Reuben's painting creates a situation that comes crashing down on all. (Goodreads)

I found the premise of the novel encouraging, however, as events moved along, the action spun out of control.  Jo Nesbo disappointed me with this book, but he has amply compensated in others.

Late for the wedding (2003) by Amanda Quick



Dead like you (2010) by Peter James

642 pages should have been 342 pages. The plots and subplots connected in a very contrived way, with a final murder being completely out of sync with the character.  In fact, the main suspect, rapist and killer, seemed totally unbelievable to me.  However, I kept reading, waiting for a brilliant conclusion.  Was the obsession by Roy Grace with the cold case of Rachel really his wanting to solve his wife's disappearance?

http://www.peterjames.com/review/dead-like-you/the-washington-post

The Flood (1986) by Ian Rankin



Bloodletting and other miraculous cures by Vincent Lam

Excellent!  Interplay of three characters as they experience their medical careers form med school to marriage.