A MURDER OF CROWS-- review

A MURDER OF CROWS by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett ISBN: 978-147-1412424 A 2022 release from Embla Books Billed as a cosy mystery, this UK crime novel is far more complex and mysterious than the typical cozy. Readers can acquire clues to the depth and breadth of the story by looking at the map in the front of the printed edition of the novel. Principal character is Dr. Nell Ward, a licensed, educated and trained ecologist. In the UK that's an important job requiring a substantial scientific education and a willingness to penetrate grubby situtions populated by nasty lives of bats, insects and other critters, often dismissed out of hand by developers and most other humans. Habitat research surveys are legally rquired in new development on previously existing farms and plantations. Such surveys have financial implications and Dr. Ward is an ecologist who considers the job of vital importance to the environment. We find her searching through brambles and a long-closed, abanoned tunnel at Manor House Farm where she becomes emeshed in a murder investigation. In fact, she becomes suspect, not illogically, due to certain indiscretions in her past which give any police team investigating the murder, pause. Dr. Nell Ward is a woman of talent, intelligence and conviction who carries a checkered past. Protecting her reputation as a lady, helping to preserve bat and critter habitat and moving forward with her nascent love life in the company of fellow scienctists and college buddies, while helping solve the murder, moves this rich and entertining novel forward, if not always at the best pace. This is, however, a well-plotted, incident-rich story following several fascinating characters. If the pace slows occasionally, the narrtive is bolstered by the main narrative and the work of Dr. Nell Ward and her scientific coleagues. Dr. Ward is a modern woman well worth appreciation.

THE SILENCE OF THE LOONS--Commentary

THE SILENCE OF THE LOONS ISBN: 1-932472-36-3 A 2005 release from Nodin Press Frankly, I have personal interest in this collection of short stories from Minnesota authors. One of the thirteen tales of mystery is one I wrote. Minnesota is an active place with many well-known and talented writers and my fellow members of the Minnesota Crime Wave decided to bring more of them to public awaareness. Our local publisher agreed. So, I will not offer a critical assessment of the stories because of my apparent prejudice. I do however want to note that several well-regarded authors, including Janet Rudolph and Laura Lippman have contributed accolades for the stories herein contained. Thirteen tales of mystery all based in a limited environment. Yes, when we invited Minnesota authors to submit we required tales of murder, mystery and crime set, of course in Minnesota. But we also set another requirement. We created a list of eight clues or elements and we required the writers to use at least four of the eight clues or elements in their story. The creative minds of our author friends were immediately engaged and we were intrigued. The result was this anthology of Minnesota mysteries. The collection is easily and widely available. And, oh yes, here are the required Clues: A headless barbie doll; a page torn from a dictionary; footprints in the snow; the sound of a train whistle; a temporary tattoo; the scent of Obsession; a wig; a soiled ballet slipper.

THE INTRUDER -- Review

THE INTRUDER by Freida McFadden A Poisoned Pen release, 2025 Cashiered teacher Casey is living her current life in an isolated cabin somewhere on the fringes of society. Readers unfamiliar with this author cn get a strong and accurate sense of the author's style and of Casey by reading the first and second paragraphs of the novel. A storm is brewing and the author adroitly uses it as a motivting forces to introduce other characters an other lives. This novel, mysterious, long-reaching, moody and extremely well written quickly draws readers into the narrator's life, both as a child and an adult. It is almost impossible to discuss th novl without revealing the book's secrets. That would be unfair to the reader. Solet this reviewer end by stating this is a thoughtful, careful dramatic and gripping story.

MURDER IN PLANE SIGHT --Review

MURDER IN PLANE SIGHT by Julie Holmes ISBN:979-8-9914430-7-4 Pulished by Mayhem Books, 2025 Note that the title of this story is not misspelled. Principal character in this emotional crime novel is Sierra Bauer. She's an unusual young woman in an unusual career. Skilled and competent, forthright and often blunt speaking, she works carefully and grittily as a trained licensed aircraft mechanic at the Minneapolis/Saint Paul Airport. Specifically she's a designated air-frame and powerplant mechanic, which meant she was certified by the FAA to wok on a new small passenger planes being introduced to their fleet at Range Air, a Detroit-based commercial airline company. The author introduces discomfort very early, even before Sierra arrives for her January night shift at Range Air's maintenance hanger. But then the body of another employee is discovered in a recently arrived Rnfge Air passenger aircraft. The novel is replete with fascinating details of FAA rules and air safety regulations. They are presented in such a way as to inflate reader's satisfaction and trust of air travel safety for the reader and at the same time helping to move the plot forward. Enter the cop. Quinn Moore is a tall experienced cop employed by the MSP airport and assigned to sort out the discovery of the dead employee. The interview Detective Moore conducts with distraut Sierra Bauer, in spite of the suspicion he radiates, is also clearly the beginning of a different kind of relationship. All the relationships are complicated and a budding romance only adds to the confusion. Ultimately resolutions are sorted. The pace of the novel and the competent writing will carry readers along with the necesary level of satifaction. The plot is excellent, the main characters are well-drawn and the necessary descriptive segments are well-handled and motivate the reader. The only real difficulty is the length. There are too many development paragraphs which slow plot movement beyond what is truly useful.

THE SONG CALLS--Review

THE SONG CALLS by Laurie Lynnsee & A.W. Powes ISBN: 979-8-9914430-5-0 Mayhem Books 2005 release A deep dive into two worlds that intermingle in both positive and negative ways. Empaths are dwfined as individuals with higher than normal sensitivity to and with other humans. Often that empathy is described as heightened sensitivity to the auras and mental energy emanating from the core of the being. It's an area of human existence that requires considerable in-depth study. This is the story of two empathetic sensitive sisters, Elise and Ruth, both keepers of empathy for some of those around them. Elise, the more sensitive is an accomplished musician returmning from college with her flueglehorn. At home, she teams up with sister Ruth in musical paths. Ruth is employed by the local county sheriff. She is also a talemted pianist and singer. The sisters form a band based largely on the music written by their deceased father. External dark forces gather to affect band mmbers in a negative way, the mental conditions, especially of Eliese. Dark. aggressive auras begin to intrude in insidious ways that have great potential to wreck what is a talented musical band. The careful blending of mental and musical abilities is judiciously handled by the authors and works well in this overlong and wordy but fascinating and interesting novel.

UNDER COLD STONE

UNDER COLD STONE by Viki Delaney ISBN: 975-1-4642-0233-9 Copyright 2004 Released by Poisoned Pen Press The author writes a dense, convoluted enthralling crime novel. This one is set in the hills and Rocky Mountains of Canada. It embodies death, mysterious disapearance, murder and chaos. Her writing also carries healthy doses of complex human development and the intricate and compelling emotions that frequently invade and disrupt the relationships we all experience. In this author's work, professional requirements establish limits that interfere with Molly Smith's efforts to protect and serve her family. When her mom, Lucky Smith and her current lover, Chief Constable of Trafalgar, British ColumbIa,travel to the famous resort ofLake Louise in Banf, they plan to spend time appreciating the surrounding mountain range. Unfortunately, life, in the form of Keller's son, Matt intrudes. He's wanted by Canadian authorities in connection to the murder of a man in thhe resort town. Matt is missing and Paul Kellor, Chief Constable, and Lucky are drawn into the search for son Matt and the truth. When Moonlight Molly Smith, a constable in a nearby town, learns of the situation, she immediately travels to the resort to help her mom, Lucky. Complications load on top of circumstances, enhanced by fraught relationships. The plot is ably dressed in the magnificant scenery of the region, the rhythms of life connected to Lake Louise and the Canadian Rockies, and thoughtful examination of human drama. As she always does, the author has written a thoughtful, modern and relevant crime novel.

THE KILL CODE COLLECTIVE

THE KILL CODE COLLECTIVE by Brian Lutterman, John Baird Rogers, Julie Holmes,Chris Norbury and Rob Jung A 2026 Midwest Mystery Works Thriller A VERY up-to-date crime novel! Five excellent Midwestern mystery authors have combined their talents, and their leading characters, into a story with almost frightful real implications. How much control and protection do certain patients have? When an electronic device is implanted, let's say a pacemaker, and the device is designed to send certain kinds of electronic signals to a monitoring physician, what are the vulnerabilities, if any? And should a corrupt corporate raider decide to go after the manufacturer of the device, what kind of defense is needed? Five Minnesota mystery authors decided to combine their considerable talents to explore those questions. The five carefully and judiciously brought their characters together in one story to defend a corporation and save certain key patients. Why are some patients targeted? Read this excellent novel to discover the answers. From every perspective of this kind of plotting, the authors have blended their talents and inserted established characters into new uncertain circumstances that will test their wit and intellects and provide readers with a satisfying and intensely interesting novel.

MUSIC IN THE PARK SERIES

Not a crime book series, this is a many-years-old music series established in the Saint Anthony Park neighborhood of Saint Paul. Because I attend and support such an excellent series, I occasionally review  concerts, even though this is not a crime novel. The music series takes place five Sunday afternoons each year in the sanctuary of the United Church of Christ, formerly a Congregational Church. This was the final concert of the current season. The Miro quartet is a world-recognized groupof string musicians. Their collaborator for this program included virtuoso saxophone artist Steven Banks. He plays soprano and tenor instruments in the concert, including the fine original piece, he composed. It's title, "Come What May."  The rest of the concert included an ancient piece by Hildigard of Birgen, two delightful works by Caroline Shaw, sweet, joyful, precise and moving, then part of Beethoven's String Quartet in A minor, Op. 132. Throughout, the concert, including the final suburbly moving piece, a 1994 suite from Osvaldo Golijov titled "The Dreams and Prayers  of Isaac the Blind," Throughout, the musicians performed  with precision, complex coordination, and considerable emotion over a wide range of musicianship. It was a very moving concert, enhanced by the significant architecture and sound characteristics of the venue. As a concert venue for smaller groups and solo performers, this place is surely one of the finest in the Twin Cities.

 

THE MAN WHO NEVER WAS - Review

THE MAN WHO NEVER WAS--Review

 by Colin Norman

 ISBN: 9781687325815

 A 2019 UK Release by the author

 The novel purports to be a blend of spy catcher, thriller and love story. What it turn out to be is a short,casual, almost cozy, beach romance, set on the English coast. A man on a rare vacation meets an attracive young woman. They spend a lot of time together, sunbathing and chatting. It turns out she has defected from Russia with her brother and may be the target of of a pretty incompetent Russian hit team. The plot wanders between romance and hiding in sight, the chraacters chat, avoid one another or connect. They also dine and travel here and there. The romance between the woman and the vacationer rises swiftly from handshakes to cheek kisses. The conclusion of this short novel is abrupt, relatively unemotional and leaves character and readers to wonder about the future. The manuscript should have been more carefully line edited. This is a story that never was quite completed.

STARLESS MIDNIGHT--A Review

 

STARLESS MIDNIGHT

By Lynn Garthwaite

ISBN:9781952976025

Released by

Kirk House Publishers, 2020 

Fourteen years ago, Jadey Evans and her white mother left the small Wisconsin town of Twin Station, in part, due to feelings of mounting racial pressure. Now, years later and a published author, Jadey is back in town. Her grandmother, the one family member she remembers with any real fondness has willed Jadey the family home. Twin Station has grown substantially, but some of the foundation problems have apparently never been resolved.

Jadey is focused on renovating the house, then either settling into a new residence or selling and moving back to the Twin Cities of Minnesota nearer her mother. Jadey is described as a tough young woman, used to the slings and arrows of modern society but she also has many positive and fond memories of her teen years growing up in a small town. And that’s in spite of a few unsettling and unanswered questions about her grandparents. 

The narrative evolves slowly and carefully, from fun-filled homecoming to unsettling clues and events of a darker color all of which coalesce into important questions that lead Jadey to wonder about unexplained events in the past. The author has carefully layered questions, events and partial answers into a revelatory story and eventual exploding action that come together in a well-blended way that entangles a reader. The town, its principal characters and all the events, present and past, raise and maintain growing attention. The author’s ability to present precisely designed and ultimately resolved questions for Jadey and for readers will linger long after the story concludes. Starless Midnight is a fine, intense and satisfying modern novel.

 

MORTAL FLIP

 

REVIEW--MORTAL FLIP

By M.E. Bakos

ISBN: 979-8-9867889-3-7

A 2004 release 

Frequently a house in a nice neighborhood that has a bad reputation is not a desirable asset. For home renovator Katelyn Baxter, who bills herself as a successful Home Rehabber, learning that the place she just acquired in Minneapolis has been the target of a suspected serial killer, is a real set-back. But, she’s committed. Katelyn is stubborn, a real optimist and she has friends. This is book 5 in Katelyn’s varied and unusual adventures in homes she never really lives in. She buys places, rehabs, then flips them over for a profit. It’s not an easy business. Every house has its strengths and weaknesses. Every neighborhood has its recluses and nosy neighbors. In this case the former owner, prominent businessman Arthur Cook was found murdered in a field and rumor links him to several possible targets in the area.  Not helpful for a sale, especially since the murderer is unknown.

Nevertheless, Ms Baxter has purchased the property, battles the reputation and works up the place for resale. She’s engaged to be married to the local sheriff, another complication of her current life, as is a persistent nosy neighbor. The novel skates along with contract egocentric workers, friends, her fiancé and the occasional legal bump. The author knows her area and gives readers an engaging, often fun look inside the rehab business connected to talent, smarts, and mystery. A fun, light-hearted cozy mystery with a careful, well-executed narrative that will satisfy any reader of crime fiction. Accuracy of process, thoughtfulness of character and good dialogue are all foundations of this cozy mystery novel.

 

 

SHADOWLAND -- Review

 SHADOWLAND

by  Karen Engstrom 

ISBN: 978-1-964354-07-1

2025 release from SaltyBooks Publishing 

This one  is a lengthy, sometimes wordy, historical novel of visitors to the northern borders of Minnesota and the nearby wilderness of Canada. The primary setting is magnificent and very well treated by the author. Readers will usually sense the odor of birch and pine, the sounds and movements of the waters and the solitude that permeates the region. Other actions of the characters take place in Chicago, indeed, most of the highly emotional activity results from relationships formed in 1920's Chicago. Although classified as an historical novel, some elements and events have been altered in service to the story. Nevertheless, this novel, entangling Carl and Ella in uncertain links to characters, large and small, active in the early, turbulent days of Twentieth Century United States life, will engage and interest any reader interested in organized crime, Prohibition, and the bucolic and serene life of Northern Minnesota.