Tag: Reviews

#BookReview A Memory for Murder (Selma Falck, 3) by Anne Holt @CorvusBooks @ReadersFirst1

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A Memory for MurderAbout the Book

When former high-powered lawyer turned PI Selma Falck is shot and her oldest friend, a junior MP, is killed in a sniper attack, everyone – including the police – assume that Selma was the prime target.

But when two other people with connections to the MP are also found murdered, it becomes clear that there is a wider conspiracy at play.

As Selma sets out to avenge her friend’s death, and discover the truth behind the conspiracy, her own life is threatened once again. Only this time, the danger may be closer to home than she could possibly have realised…

Format: Hardcover (432 pages)           Publisher: Corvus
Publication date: 4th November 2021 Genre: Crime, Literature in Translation

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My Review

A Memory For Murder (translated from the Norwegian by Anne Bruce) is the first book I’ve read by Anne Holt but, on the strength of this one, it certainly won’t be the last!  Although it’s the third in the author’s Selma Falck series, I didn’t feel at a disadvantage from not having read the previous books. True, there are a few references to events in the earlier books (A Grave For Two and A Necessary Death) but if anything it made me even keener to read them at some point.

I really enjoyed getting to know Selma Falck, even if she’s described as being ‘seldom completely herself’. A former lawyer turned private investigator, she’s also been variously a world class handball player, a social media star and a (mostly reformed) gambling addict. She’s also a grandmother eager to be allowed a closer relationship with her grandson, and that forms a key part of her motivation for finding out exactly who was the target of the sniper attack – her or her friend? – who was responsible and why they did it.

Safe to say, there are plenty of twists and turns in a plot which encompasses stalking, government malpractice, contingency planning, adoption, child welfare policy, investigative journalism and much, much more.  It might seem too many topics to cram into one book and still keep the plot moving along and the reader engaged, but Anne Holt manages it – and how! Frequently introducing new characters and different points of view shouldn’t work either, but it does; it’s just more people to either suspect or wonder how they fit into the story. Oh, and never has a round object or an emoji etched in dust been more chilling.

I thought A Memory For Murder was terrific and I simply raced through the pages, admiring the way the author brought all the different threads together to reveal a final picture that’s a good deal darker than you might have expected.

I received an advance review copy courtesy of Corvus and Readers First.

In three words: Gripping, clever, suspenseful

Try something similar: A Better Part of Valor by Gary Corbin

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Anne HoltAbout the Author

Anne Holt is Norway’s bestselling female crime writer. She spent two years working for the Oslo Police Department before founding her own law firm and serving as Norway’s Minster for Justice between 1996 and 1997. She is published in 30 languages with over 7 million copies of her books sold. (Photo/bio credit: Publisher author page)

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#BookReview A Stranger from the Storm by William Burton McCormick @MannisonPress

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A Stranger From The StormAbout the Book

The year is 1900. The port city of Odessa on the Black Sea is being terrorized by a brutal killer called the Specter. With five people already dead, the murderer promises more.

One family, the Karadopoulinas, run a boarding house. Sisters Tasia and Eleni feel certain the killer is a scarred, shambling Londoner who took lodging with them one night during a thunderstorm. Furtive and threatening, Henry Humble, stalks Odessa’s labyrinth of interlocking courtyards and foggy docks at night, armed with weapons and skeleton keys. As the body count rises, so do the questions…

Who is the mysterious figure haunting the catacombs below the streets of Odessa? Why won’t Eleni’s police constable sweetheart investigate? Who will be the next to die?

Format: ebook (110 pages)                  Publisher: Mannison Press
Publication date: 4th November 2021 Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery

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My Review

I was first introduced to the writing of William Burton McCormick when I read and reviewed the CWA Anthology of Short Stories: Mystery Tour back in 2017, to which William contributed a story. Therefore I was delighted when he offered me the opportunity to read his latest book, A Stranger from the Storm, which is published today (4th November 2021).

Odessa proves an ideal setting for a historical mystery with its dark streets and network of tunnels that lie beneath the city. Sisters, Eleni and Tasia, make engaging central characters. Eleni is impetuous and something of a risk-taker whilst Tasia is thoughtful and more inclined to think things through before acting, although that doesn’t stop both of them getting into some scrapes. I enjoyed the light-hearted banter between the sisters. For example, this exchange when a telegram arrives addressed to their mysterious guest. ‘”Don’t you dare open that envelope, Eleni.” She opened the envelope. “Eleni, don’t you dare read that telegram!” She read it.’

There are some chilling and dramatic scenes as the sisters close in on the murderer – those tunnels again – but there are also moments of humour. For instance, when the search for an item they are convinced is hidden in a particular place proves unproductive, Tasia remarks “I hate red herrings” and Eleni replies, “I prefer boiled cod”.

Talking of red herrings, there are plenty dotted throughout the book and the author also creates a number of false trails in an attempt to outwit the reader. If you work out the person behind the murders before the final reveal you must definitely have been taking notes.

A Stranger from the Storm is a perfect one sitting read, preferably on a dark winte night when you’re in the mood for a chilling tale. Do check the doors and windows are locked first however – oh, and you might want to look under that rug.

In three words: Atmospheric, intriguing, suspenseful

Try something similar: Betty Church and the Suffolk Vampire by M.R.C. Kasasian

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William Burton McCormickAbout the Author

William Burton McCormick was born in Maryland and grew up in Nevada. He has lived in seven countries including Latvia and Russia where he researched and wrote his first novel Lenin’s Harem.

William graduated from Brown University with degrees in Ancient Studies and Computer Science and earned an MA in Novel Writing from the University of Manchester. He has won awards in the production of computer games and educational software, co-owned a company to reduce junk e-mail, and worked as an executive recruiter in the Washington D.C. area. He also studied at Lomonosov Moscow State University.

William’s short fiction has appeared in The Saturday Evening Post, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine and included in the CWA Anthology of Short Stories: Mystery Tour. (Orenda Books). He is a four-time Derringer Finalist. William is a member of Mystery Writers of America, the Crime Writers’ Association, International Thriller Writers, and the Historical Novel Society. He was elected a Hawthornden Writing Fellow in 2013. (Photo/bio credit: Goodreads author page)

Connect with William
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A Stranger from the Storm