November Books and an Update

(If you're not into book chat, see the note at the bottom!) 

I'm not sure what I was doing in November. Yes, prepping for my art sale took a lot of time. Yes, there were three days of the sale. But that was over mid-November and let's be honest -- I didn't prep 24/7 for that. Somehow, I only managed to read two books, both mysteries. And both were worth my time.

"Big Ben Strikes Eleven" by David Magarshak

 

This hefty British Library Crime Classic is a solid police procedural set in London in the early 1930s. Sir Robert Boniface is found dead in his car by Hampstead's Vale of Health. Inspector Beckett and Superintendent Mooney have only a handful of clues picked up at the scene -- a handkerchief, a cigar and later, a ticket stub, none of which they can connect to the victim himself.

As with most murder victims, Sir Robert was not particularly loved by many in his environment, but particularly his nephew, Frank Littlefield, and a local artist, Matt, whose portrait of the businessman had been rejected. In his quest to find more about these two men and any other possible suspects, Mooney and Beckett question Boniface's secretary, Miss Pritt, and Mr. Fuller, who also worked in the office. 

The circumstances are baffling -- a gun, found in the nearby Viaduct Pond; a chance encounter between Matt and a young woman he finds strangely attractive; a would-be writer who appears to know more about one of the items found in the car than one might expect, and the words of a window cleaner who discovers the body. 

I found this one intriguing. Some of the passages are a bit long and I wondered for a bit where it was going, but it all made sense in the long run. In his introduction, Martin Edwards says this was Magarshak's first book of three, and clearly the best. I'm not sure I'll seek out the others but I definitely enjoyed this one. 

"Past Reason Hated" by Peter Robinson

 

The late Peter Robinson's series character was Inspector Banks, formerly of the Met and now Chief Superintendent in Eastvale, near York. I've not read this sequentially so how he landed in York after the Met, I have no idea. But the good news is that it didn't matter.

Set several days before and after Christmas, Banks' new Detective Constable is Susan Gay, young, determined and eager to prove herself in her new role. The team is faced with two crimes -- a break-in and destruction of costumes at the community theatre and the murder of the mercurial and flirtatious Caroline Hartley, who lives with her partner, Veronica Shildon. The cases converge when Banks learns that Caroline is also a member of the theatre company that was vandalized and has a role in their upcoming production of "Twelfth Night." 

There is no shortage of suspects -- Veronica's ex-husband, Ivor, who was angered when his wife chose the love of another woman over himself; Ivor's new partner, Patsy, who is unsure that Ivor may still prefer Veronica; Caroline's brother Gary, who lives with their ill father; and members of the theatre company, including the director, James, and two of the leading ladies, Faith and Theresa. 

Caroline has a hidden and disturbing past prior to her arrival in York and the investigation takes Banks to London where she worked as a prostitute, had a child, and also shared another intimate relationship with a poet. The alibis and clues seem to eliminate everyone and no one. 

Robinson writes strong characters and his sense of atmosphere and the holiday season is strong. The murderer was one of my top two suspects but I confess I was surprised at the ending. I would most certainly read another in the Banks series. 

And I also wanted to say . . . thank you so much for so many kind comments and good wishes on the last post regarding my surgery. I'm home now. Sore and tired, but home. I've tried to visit your blogs and getting the Blogger "Fail to Publish, Try Again" notice. Just wanted to let you know. Also, I don't know that I'll be able to reply to all your comments for a bit. Typing is a bit of a challenge at the moment. But your words mean more to me than you can know. Thank you.