Contrived, overlong, and seriously dated. Stick to the author’s translations of Dostoevsky.
The first of three detective novels Magarschack published, this one in 1934, before he made a more enduring reputation by translating Russian novels into English.
Out for a walk on Hampstead Heath after his daughter, Agnes, responded to his threat to beat her by turning on him, window cleaner Samuel Halstead comes upon a body in a parked limousine. And not just any body. The dead man is Sir Robert Boniface, a captain of industry whose demise is bound to cause aftershocks in high places. The shocks on the page are considerably more sedate. Approached for information about the death, Agnes’ love, artist Matt Caldwell, whose recent portrait of Sir Robert had been indignantly rejected by the sitter, reacts with unalloyed delight before disappearing. Frank Littlewood, a nephew and former secretary the baronet had recently dismissed, is equally dry-eyed. The other suspects—Lord Rollesborough, Sir Robert’s vice chair and successor at the Industrial Development Trust; Benjamin Fuller, the publicity head for Sir Robert’s office; Miss Pritt, the magnate’s confidential secretary; and June Gayford, the fiancee Sir Robert refused to allow Frank to marry—are limited, and Magarschack (1899–1977) extends the story by repeatedly reshuffling his tiny deck, allowing them to cast suspicion on each other, provide unsought alibis, and reveal further information about the adventures of Frank’s gun, which seems likely to have been the murder (or was it a suicide?) weapon. Inspector Beckett and his nominal superior, Superintendent Mooney, react to all these complications with commendably straight faces, presumably because they’re saving their energy for the climactic car chase that rings down the curtain.
Contrived, overlong, and seriously dated. Stick to the author’s translations of Dostoevsky.Pub Date: Jan. 14, 2025
ISBN: 9781464230400
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Poisoned Pen
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
Fast-moving excitement with a satisfying finish.
The feds must protect an accused criminal and an orphaned girl.
Maybe you’ve met him before as protagonist of The 6:20 Man (2022): Ex-Army Ranger Travis Devine, who’d had the dubious fortune to tangle with “the girl on the train,” is now assigned by his homeland security boss to protect Danny Glass, who's awaiting trial on multiple RICO charges in Washington state. Devine has what it takes: He “was a closer, snooper, fixer, investigator,” and, when necessary, a killer. These skills are on full display as the deaths of three key witnesses grind justice to a temporary halt. Glass has a 12-year-old niece, Betsy Odom, and each is the other’s only living relative—her parents recently died of an apparent drug overdose. The FBI has temporary guardianship of Betsy, who's a handful. She tells Travis that though she’s not yet 13, she's 28 in “life-shit years.” The financially well-heeled Glass wants to be her legal guardian with an eye to eventual adoption, but what are his real motives? And what happens to her if he's convicted? Meanwhile, Betsy insists that her parents never touched drugs, and she begs Travis to find out how they really died. This becomes part of a mission that oozes danger. The small town of Ricketts has a woman mayor who’s full of charm on the surface, but deeply corrupt and deadly when crossed. She may be linked to a subversive group called "12/24/65," as in 1865, when the Ku Klux Klan beast was born. Blood flows, bombs explode, and people perish, both good guys and not-so-good guys. Readers might ponder why in fiction as well as in life, it sometimes seems necessary for many to die so one may live. And what about the girl on the train? She's not necessary to the plot, but she's a fun addition as she pops in and out of the pages, occasionally leaving notes for Travis. Maybe she still wants him dead.
Fast-moving excitement with a satisfying finish.Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2024
ISBN: 9781538757901
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
As usual, Evanovich handles the funny stuff better (much better) than the mystery stuff.
Stephanie Plum’s 31st adventure shows that Trenton’s preeminent fugitive-apprehension agent still has plenty of tricks up her sleeve, and needs every one of them.
The current caseload for Stephanie and Lula—the ex-prostitute file clerk at her cousin Vincent Plum’s bail bonds company, who serves as her unflappable sidekick—begins with two “failures to appear.” Eugene Fleck is suspected of being Robin Hoodie, who robs from the rich and, yes, distributes the proceeds to the poor. Racketeer Bruno Jug, who’s missed his court date on charges of tax evasion, is also suspected of drugging and raping a 14-year-old. But neither of these fugitives can hold a candle to Zoran Djordjevic, aka Fang, a self-proclaimed vampire wanted in connection with the gruesome fate of his late wife and three other missing women. As usual, Stephanie’s personal life is just as helter-skelter as her professional life as a bounty hunter. She’s managed to get herself engaged both to Det. Joe Morelli, of the Trenton PD, and Ranger, a former Special Forces agent who runs a private security firm; she thinks she may be pregnant; and she’s willing to marry the father, whichever of her fiances that turns out to be. On top of it all, her nothingburger schoolmate Herbert Slovinski suddenly pops up at one of the funerals she ferries her Grandma Mazur to, hitting on her relentlessly and gilding his importunities by cleaning and painting her shabby apartment and laying new carpet. Luckily, Lula’s on hand to offer cupcakes that stave off the worst disasters, and whenever this hodgepodge threatens to slow down, another FTA appears, or fails to appear.
As usual, Evanovich handles the funny stuff better (much better) than the mystery stuff.Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781668003138
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
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