Tag: historical crime

#BookReview The Figure in the Photograph by Kevin Sullivan @allisonandbusby

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20200224_131215-1About the Book

1898. Juan Camerón’s father is killed while working as a photographer amidst the chaos of war in Cuba, but his last pictures reveal a sinister truth to his final moments…

Juan travels to Scotland to grieve with family and immerses himself in the study of photography. When he invents a device that inadvertently solves a crime, local law enforcement recruit him to help stop a brutal serial killer plaguing the streets of Glasgow.

Format: Hardcover (352 pages)      Publisher: Allison and Busby
Publication date: 23rd April 2020 Genre: Historical Fiction, Crime, Mystery

Find The Figure in the Photograph on Goodreads

Purchase links*
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*links provided for convenience not as part of an affiliate programme

My Review

I was attracted to this book for a number of reasons: firstly, because historical crime is one of my favourite genres; secondly, because it’s published by Allison & Busby who have a great track record of publishing books I enjoy; thirdly, I was intrigued by it being partly set in Cuba.

Initially I was a little disappointed that the setting moves pretty quickly from revolutionary Cuba to Glasgow. However, I was soon immersed in the story and the atmosphere created by the author which vividly brings to life the sights, sounds and smells of the crowded streets and tenements of Glasgow at the very end of the 19th century.

The main character, Juan, was a little less vivid. The reader never gets much description of him so I found it hard to create a picture of him in my mind. At first, I wondered if this was deliberate on the author’s part, since there are detailed descriptions of other characters, or if it would have some significance for the story. As it turns out, the only things we really learn are that he is skilled in photography and that he can look after himself in a tight situation, having learned to box in Granada and been taught judo by his Jesuit tutor in Madrid. The latter comes in very handy. I also found Juan’s lack of curiosity about his mother’s whereabouts, mentioned as part of his back story early on in the book, rather surprising. However, perhaps the author is saving that for the future.

Introducing the use of photography as a detection technique, in particular Juan’s pioneering self-timer which enables photographs of a scene to be taken at set intervals, is a bit of a masterstroke on the author’s part. After all, who hasn’t enjoyed a ‘spot the difference’ quiz at one time or another? It also raises some intriguing questions about what we notice or don’t notice when we look at a photograph. Who is there who shouldn’t be? Who isn’t there but should be? Is there something that stands out as remarkable? Is there something so unremarkable it gets overlooked? It brought to mind Sherlock Holmes’ oft quoted observation about the curious incident of the dog in the night time. (Talking of Sherlock Holmes, I loved young Tommy, who appoints himself Juan’s assistant, messenger and guide; a sort of one urchin version of the Baker Street Irregulars.)

As the bodies mount up, Juan despairs at his lack of progress in discovering the identity of the serial killer, despite hours spent painstakingly analysing the scenes he’s photographed and undertaking his own investigations. But if he’s really not getting anywhere, why do so many influential local men seem anxious to bring his involvement in the case to an end? Like the process of developing a photograph, slowly the full picture is revealed. And Juan maybe on to something when he wonders if, in the future, it will be possible to place cameras in city streets taking continuous photographs.

I really enjoyed The Figure in the Photograph. It’s a well-crafted, atmospheric historical crime mystery and I look forward to reading further books by the author.  I received an advance review copy courtesy of Allison and Busby.

In three words: Compelling, atmospheric, suspenseful

Try something similar: The Wages of Sin by Kaite Welsh

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sullivan-kevin-wbAbout the Author

Kevin Sullivan was born in Glasgow. His career in journalism has placed him on the front line of defining historical moments in living memory, from documenting events at Tiananmen Square to covering the siege of Dubrovnik and the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. His work has taken him to Singapore, Sri Lanka, Japan, the Western Balkans and Spain.  He lives in Sarajevo.  (Photo credit: Publisher author page)

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#BookReview Stasi Winter (Karin Müller 5) by David Young @ZaffreBooks

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516zEuy13+L._SX324_BO1,204,203,200_About the Book

In 1978 East Germany, nothing is as it seems. The state’s power is absolute, history is rewritten, and the ‘truth’ is whatever the Stasi say it is.

So when a woman’s murder is officially labelled ‘accidental death’, Major Karin Müller of the People’s Police is faced with a dilemma. To solve the crime, she must disregard the official version of events. But defying the Stasi means putting her own life – and the lives of her young family – in danger.

As the worst winter in living memory holds Germany in its freeze, Müller must untangle a web of state secrets and make a choice: between truth and lies, justice and injustice, and, ultimately, life and death.

Format: Paperback (368 pages)         Publisher: Zaffre
Publication date: 9th January 2020 Genre: Historical Fiction, Crime, Thriller

Find Stasi Winter on Goodreads

Purchase links*

Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com | Hive (supporting UK bookshops)
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

My Review

I seem to make a habit of coming to series part way through.  Such is the case with this series by David Young set in pre-unification Germany. However, although Stasi Winter is the fifth book in the series, I’m happy to say it works perfectly well as a standalone read. Having said that, there are references throughout to events in earlier books which would amount to spoilers. It certainly makes me wish I’d discovered the series earlier so that I could have read all the other books – Stasi Child, Stasi Wolf, Stasi State and Stasi 77 – first .

With events taking place over a few weeks in the ‘catastrophic’ winter of 1978/79, the author cleverly weaves the adverse weather and its impact into the plot. And the grim realities of everyday life for the population of East Germany are vividly depicted. Living in an oppressive state where people are in constant fear of informers and the secret police (the infamous Stasi), it’s no wonder individuals dream of escaping beyond the Anti-Fascist Protection Barrier (what we know as the Berlin Wall) and will go to almost any lengths to reach the West. However, it’s a high-risk venture with long-lasting repercussions for those who are caught – and their families – as will become evident.

I really liked the interesting dynamics the author creates between Müller and her investigation team. There’s clearly history between some of them and the reader may, like Müller herself, wonder just who can trusted at certain points. As well as the return of old sparring partner Jager, a Stasi Colonel who seems to have a finger in every pie, one particular individual from a previous case provides the reader with an unique insight on events.

The author keeps the chapters short and the pace intense as the story moves towards its explosive conclusion. And the end of the book includes a teaser for where the story might go next.  A sign, I hope, now that I’ve discovered the series, that there will be another case for Karin Müller before very long.

Stasi Winter is a skilfully constructed and gripping crime thriller with a real sense of period atmosphere.  I received a review copy courtesy of Zaffre and Readers First.

In three words: Tense, compelling, assured

Try something similar: Zoo Station by David Downing

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CityCrime 2014 DY PhotoAbout the Author

East Yorkshire-born David Young began his East German-set crime series on a creative writing MA at London’s City University when Stasi Child – his debut – won the course prize. The novel went on to win the 2016 CWA Historical Dagger, and both it and the 2017 follow-up, Stasi Wolf, were longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. His novels have been sold in eleven territories round the world.

Before becoming a full-time author, David was a senior journalist with the BBC’s international radio and TV newsrooms for more than 25 years. He divides his time – and his writing – between Twickenham in the UK and the Cyclades islands in Greece. (Photo credit: author website)

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