Vol. 4 Issue 1
As 2024 begins, I look forward to another year of sharing with you the novels that I read and recommend in the crime and mystery genre. I value you, my loyal subscribers, and hope you continue to find my newsletter valuable as you choose the books you read. If you know other readers of crime and mystery novels, who may be interested in this newsletter, please have them contact me via email to subscribe. Here’s to another year of great reading!
Recommendations
Lost Hills and Bone Canyon
Lee Goldberg, a two-time Edgar Award winning novelist, has created a Los Angeles-based crime series featuring newly promoted LA County Sheriff’s Department homicide detective Eve Ronin.
Lost Hills, published in 2020, is the first in a five-book series. We meet Eve Ronin soon after she is promoted over the heads of more experienced officers. She faces resentment from both her colleagues and her supervisor while determined to prove her skills as an investigator. Ronin and her partner, Duncan Pavone, a veteran reaching retirement, are called to a brutal, bloody crime scene, which has every indication of the site of multiple murders but with one puzzling anomaly. There are no corpses. The action is fast paced, and the plot full of twists before the unlikely partners get to the truth.
The relationship between Ronin and Pavone is thorny at the outset but gradually evolves into a tight professional bond of mutual respect. Pavone grows into his role as mentor to the less experienced but smart younger officer.
In Bone Canyon, the second in the series published in 2021, Ronin and Pavone investigate the charred remains of a woman’s body discovered in the Santa Monica Mountains, where a wildfire had raged years before. Again, Goldberg, a TV script writer for Monk, serves up a complex plot, clever villains, and startling revelations on the way to its heart-pounding conclusion.
Murder by Degree by Ritu Mukerji
Murder By Degree, published in 2023, is set in 19th century Philadelphia when women entering medicine faced stiff resistance from the male-dominated profession.
Dr. Lydia West, professor and anatomist at Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, becomes suspicious when the death of her young patient, whose body was found in the Schuylkill River, is ruled suicide. Using her own forensic skills, Dr. West discovers proof of murder, and brings the evidence to the police, forcing the authorities to reopen the case.
Mukerji, herself a physician, paints a realistic picture of the difficulties doctor’s like Lydia West faced in gaining acceptance in the medical profession while at the same time creating a compelling case of murder to be solved.
Faceless Killers
Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell is the first in the Kurt Wallender ten-book series, which is the basis for the PBS series. Mankell received Sweden’s best mystery award for this novel.
A farmer and his wife are found bludgeoned and tortured to death in their home. The only clue is that the wife uttered one word before she died: “foreign.” Wallender remains laser-focused on his investigation while determined to ignore public pressure to find the culprit among newly arrived immigrants, strongly resented by the locals.
Patronize Independent Booksellers
Whenever you buy books, please consider purchasing from independent booksellers, who remain passionate about books, love to share their knowledge and provide a vital link between readers and authors.
A Request
For those of you who have read and enjoyed my debut novel Killer Deals, I would greatly appreciate you contributing a review on Amazon, if you haven’t’ already. The reality is that Amazon sells the majority of published novels and your review will help get the word out about my book to a broad audience. Thank you for considering my request.
Watch your inbox for my next newsletter out in March. In the meantime, please feel free to share your thoughts and recommendations with me. Email me at chrisquarembo@gmail.com
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