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The Blond Baboon (Grijpstra & De Gier Mystery) 2 reviews
Janwillem van de Wetering
Soho Crime, 1997
Death of a Chanteuse
A wild storm rocks Amsterdam and at the end of the storm the body of Elaine Carnet, successful businesswoman and former Paris torch singer, is found with a broken neck at the foot of her garden steps. Was she killed by a gust of wind? If so, who was smoking the cigarettes that they found in her house? Grijpstra and de Gier are called in to figure out who was behind the murder. Van De Wetering's ...
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The Corpse on the Dike (Amsterdam Cops)4 reviews
Janwillem van de Wetering
Soho Crime, 2003
Believable and quirky cops solve the crime!
I ran into this author by accident, browsing in the mystery category, and I am delighted that I did. This is the second book I've read from the Amsterdam Cops series, and I plan to read them all! The characters are people you'd like to get to know -- believable and quirky. The plot of this particular book takes the reader inside the physical geography of Amsterdam as well as into the minds and ...
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Jade Lady Burning10 reviews
Martin Limón
Soho Crime, 2003
Don't believe Publisher's Weekly.....this is far better than they indicate
This is a simply fantastic novel!! Noir, dark and darkly humorous, gritty, seedy, pulsing with human vice and need, and chock-full of knuckle-dusting action, gun fire, and labyrinthine mystery. The story line revolves about two men, military detectives, investigating the steaming underbelly of the local black market Korean/American military economy and the concurrent trade in prostitution, ...
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Hollow-Eyed Angel (Amsterdam Cops)3 reviews
Janwillem van de Wetering
Soho Crime, 2003
Van de Wetering's strongest dose of Zen Buddhism yet.
Van de Wetering continues his search for the true meaning of being and nothingness. The commissaris and Sergeant de Gier travel to New York to investigate the death of an uncle of a member of the Amsterdam Police Reserve. Throughout the course of their investigation, the Dutch detectives continue their own personal search for enlightenment. Van de Wetering has a talent for giving his readers more ...
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Shaman Pass11 reviews
Stan Jones
Soho Crime, 2005
Return of the Mummy
In this sequel to "White Sky, Black Ice," Alaska State Trooper, Nathan Active, an Inupiat Eskimo who was raised by white parents in Anchorage, makes the mistake of buying himself a purple snow machine, which as everyone in Chukchi knows, is the ladies' model. It's just one more indication that Nathan is the village naluaqmiiyaaq--the Inupiat word for an Eskimo who tries to pass as a white man.
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Living Dead Girl7 reviews
Tod Goldberg
Soho Crime, 2003
hey Tod give us a book about "how to" write because you can!
I read this book on a sunny Saturday at the beach. I am sunburned now because I couldnýt stop reading long enough to walk to my car before I finished. There are some very haunting images floating through my mind and yet the biggest thing I have taken away with me from ýLiving Dead Girlý is love. The images and emotions that are portrayed in this book are amazingly beautiful sometimes in the ...
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Beat Not the Bones4 reviews
Charlotte Jay
Soho Crime, 2003
This one's a gem!
This book is part mystery, part cultural clash, part un-romanticized love story and part sociological thriller all rolled into a lovely, haunting read set in Papua, New Guinea. Although written in the early '50s, it's rather complex and has a very contemporary feel. After reading this book I wanted to find anything else Ms. Jay has written but alas, her other books seem to be unavailable in the ...
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Blood of the Wicked5 reviews
Soho Crime, 2008
fascinating but violent Brazilian police procedural
In a classic sh*t rolls down hill, the Pope calls the Brazilian president twice; in turn the president pressures the Director of the Brazilian Federal Police Nelson Sampaio to resolve the matter ASAP; in turn Nelson orders Chief Inspector Mario Silva to uncover the identity of the person who assassinated Bishop Dom Felipe Antunes at a church mass in front of a crowd at Cascatas. Mario ...
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The Last Enemy (Soho Crime)6 reviews
Grace Brophy
Soho Crime, 2008
"The Last Enemy," a gripping tale, Italian style
The Last Enemy is a terrific read, an Italian police procedural that caught me up in a conflict between turning its pages fast and slowing down to savoring its luscious tastes, fascinating vignettes, and sights full of Umbrian local color. From its very first chapter, where the Penitente parade winds its way through the streets of Assisi and we learn of Count Casati's childhood failures and ...
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Moonlight Downs5 reviews
Adrian Hyland
Soho Crime, 2008
A precious gem of a book not to be missed
The author, Adrian Hyland, spent many years living and working with indigenous people in the Northern Territory; MOONLIGHT DOWNS is a story told with a great deal of affection for the people. Their spiritual connection to the land and its native animals is particularly well described. He makes no attempt to gloss over the dysfunctional aspects of life in the remoter areas of the Northern ...
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Mannequin (St-Cyr and Kohler)1 review
J. Robert Janes
Soho Crime, 2003
a great addition to the series.
I recently discovered the St. Cyr-Kohler series. This is the third I've read; the other two being Stonekiller and Salamander. I think this may be the best of the three I've read so far - 'though I quite enjoyed the other two. It's a great read, the detectives are three-dimensional, and I can't wait to read the next one. Special kudos to Cheryl Cipriani, the jacket designer for Soho Crime. ...
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Snapshot (Inspector Hal Challis)1 review
Garry Disher
Soho Crime, 2007
Dandy Down Under Detective
I'm always looking for something new to attract my eye in the crime genre and I've been attracted to the publisher of the "Soho Crime" books. These stories take place in foregin locales and Mr. Disher's Detective Hal Challis stories take place in Austrailia. I've now read the first three in the series and each one is better than the last. Hal Challis plays the world weary police detective that ...
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The Marshal and the Murderer1 review
Magdalen Nabb
Soho Crime, 2002
The potters Tale
SoHo continue to delight by re-issuing Nabb's superlative Florentine novels ( although why they aren't being put out in chronological order defeats me ). The story revolves around Guarnaccia's gradual unravelling of a decades old feud and it's tragic echo in the present. As ever with Ms. Nabb the story is told with wit and compassion , there are no car chases ( there is a bus ride in the rain ), ...
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The Collaborator of Bethlehem 28 reviews
Soho Crime, 2007
One Tough School Teacher
Omar Yussef is a school teacher in present day Palestine. He takes on the role of detective when a former student is accused of collaboration. This stark portrait of the multi-level conflicts of this region will leave you reeling. The good guys aren't so good and the bad guys can be terrible. Yussef has to dodge all sides even as they're squeezing in on him. He discovers his friends may be ...
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The Mind-Murders (Grijpstra De Grier Series)1 review
Janwillem van de Wetering
Soho Crime, 2003
We live in patterns
It was a Friday night in the summertime. Grijpstra and DeGier were faced with a stuck window. They had overstayed their shift and the weekend had really started. Police constables may have thrown a handicapped man into a canal. The constables are called Ketchup and Karate. Grijpstra and DeGier take off in search of Rea Fortune since her belongings have vanished. They interview their ...
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Cons2 reviews
Timothy Watts
Soho Crime, 2003
A book that holds your attention from beginning to end.
A gritty first novel by a pretty talented writer (I hear he's a great mechanic too). There are great characters (some you might even know) in this no-holds barred day-in-the-life adventure. You'll say "wow" when you're finished and will probably go out get Money Lovers and then Steal Away like I am.
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Death of a Red Heroine (Soho Crime)44 reviews
Qiu Xiaolong
Soho Crime, 2003
excellent debut!
I've read three other books by this author, and I think that his first novel, this one, is the best. A great blend of chinese culture and mystery. Well written and captivating.
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Siren of the Waters2 reviews
Michael Genelin
Soho Crime, 2008
Fast-paced thriller
This is a page-turner which skillfully interweaves a wrenching love story from the past with a present-day mystery. I didn't know much about life in SSRs like Slovakia, either before the communist regime or afterward... but 'Siren of the Waters' gave me a sharp taste of that place and time.
The protagonist is a female police commander who's seen too much but never lost her dedication nor ...
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The Coroner's Lunch37 reviews
Colin Cotterill
Soho Crime, 2005
CSI Vientiane, Season 1: The Sixth Sense
First of all, thanks to V.J.Canberra for recommending this historical/esoteric/ethnic series of crime novels around Dr.Siri.
Meet the hero: the man is 72 and reluctantly (he would rather retire) national chief coroner of the recently turned Republic of Laos under communist Pathet Lao rule. The time is 1976. Dr.Siri is insufficiently qualified as well as equipped and staffed. He makes that up by ...
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High Crimes (Soho Crime)1 review
John Westerman
Soho Crime, 2003
As Good As It Gets
Gritty, funny, sexy and authentic. Damned-near "literary." Crime fiction doesn't get better than this. Read one of Westermann's books and you'll read them all.
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