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Greenwoods' Bookshoppe
has always had both a good mystery selection and a few strong mystery
readers on staff. Recently two of our booksellers were chosen as panelists
for BOOKED, a locally filmed but nationally
shown series reviewing mystery novels and more specifically, investigating
them to see if what happened on the page could or did happen in real
life. Our section is composed of everything from genteel English drawing
room cozies to hard bitten cynical noirs, from home grown talent to
authors writing about or from far away places. We enjoy a challenge
so if you have read everything by one of your favourite authors and
don't know who next to read or if, let's say, you need a thriller set in Tibet, try
us.
To get an idea of the types of things we like to read, take a look at our
Best of 2005. And, you might be interested in visiting our Reviews & Awards page
where you can link to some mystery reader websites that we highly recommend.
Shatter
by Michael Robotham |
Joe O'Loughlin, the Parkinsons-afflicted psychologist from The Suspect
and The Drowning Man is back in Robotham's latest terse psychological thriller.
A naked woman leaps off a suspension bridge but O'Loughlin, who failed to talk her down, believes it's not suicide -
a twisted killer has a grip on her that's so strong he's actually forced the woman to jump.
Suspecting the truth and proving it are two different things however. O'Loughlin needs the help of retired cop
Vincent Ruiz to bring the tough Detective Inspector Veronica Cray around to taking his theory seriously.
(BH) |
Friend of the Devil
by Peter Robinson |
A ghost from the past is back to haunt both DI Annie Cabbot and DCI Banks.
The murder of a quadriplegic woman on a cliffside and that of a young woman dumped on a pile of leather scraps in
a shed in the middle of a maze are linked by more than just violent death. The latest realistic police procedural
by the always fascinating Peter Robinson is a tale of obssessive vengeance.
(BH) |
Garden of Evil
by David Hewson |
The history of Italian painting, especially Caravaggio, and the history of that country's
aristocracy is the background of this complex and harrowing thriller, the latest Nic Costa mystery.
This time the crime is personal when Costa's wife is collateral damage during the arrogant killer's rampage.
A fast-paced, gripping thriller that will have the reader staying up late to see how it turns out. (BH) |
Black Seconds
by Karin Fossum |
Fossum is second to none when it comes to well characterized mysteries.
This is her fifth novel in translation from the Swedish and it is fine. With many writers you can select a couple that
stand out among the rest. With her, every one of the Inspector Sejer mysteries are masterpieces of fine writing as well
as involving mysteries. What Fossum does better than anyone else is show that there are no black and whites when it comes
to people or to crimes.
(PLB) |
Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino |
Kirino again focuses on the lives of unconventional women in Japanese society in this tale of a woman whose sister
and high school acquaintance both become prostitutes and are possibly killed by the same man.
A dark and fascinating mystery with striking characters which explores the darkest corners of Japanese life and
education and the unreasonable pressures exerted by beauty. Terrific read. (BH)
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De Niro’s Game by Rawi Hage |
Existential Beirut noir. Bassam and George are two young men in Beirut who grew up as friends.
Both are heavily influenced by the Western Media. They decide on a life of crime.
Bassam is saving the proceeds because he wants to get out but George envisions a career in the militia-ruled underworld.
Inevitably their fates collide. |
The Death of Achilles by Boris Akunin |
Russian mystery buffs revere Akunin, who renders smart stylistic thrillers set in the late nineteenth century. In the author's fourth novel, the Holmesian special agent Erast Fandorin investigates the sudden demise of his old war-hero friend. .
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