Book Reviews..

The Book of Murder

Guillermo Martinez
Trans. From Spanish by Sonia Soto
Reviewed by Ellen Higgins

The Book of Murder (2007; English trans., Sonia Soto, 2008) by GuillermoMartinez is the author’s second book focusing on crime. An Argentinian writer, Martinez, who has a Ph.D. in mathematical logic from the University of Buenos Aires where he currently teaches, has written over a half-dozen books, including novels, short stories, and essays. His previous and most successful novel, The Oxford Murders (2003)–turned into a movie in 2008 (dir. Alex de la Iglesia)–centered on crime and mathematics but had a murder early in the book with true detection, attempts to solve the mathematical symbols as well as the series of crimes. Yet a mystery critic felt that this book fell short of genre conventions (http//who-dunnit.com/authors/202).

The Book of Murder, touted by the publisher as in the vein of Alfred Hitchcock, is even less a traditional mystery and more a suspense involving the psychology of fear, jealousy, accusation, conspiracy. The narrator of the novel is an unnamed, young writer fascinated by Kloster, an older and famous writer of crime novels. When they coincidentally share an administrative assistant, Luciana, their lives briefly intersect–both are obsessed with the young woman and whether she is giving the other author sexual favors. Luciana reappears ten years later seeking the help of the narrator. Terrified, she relates the history of the past ten years in which a series of deaths of family and friends have occurred. Although the deaths have been ruled accidental, she claims that they have been perpetuated by Kloster in revenge for her taking up a sexual harassment case against him, which destroyed his marriage. She also points to similarities in the way the victims died to the deaths in Kloster’s own novels. Luciano fears not only for her life but for those of her remaining relatives, a grandmother and sister.

The novel goes back and forth between present time and earlier times, as the events of the decade are juxtaposed to the reunion of Luciana and the narrator. The narrator must confront his own prejudices and jealousy as he tries to sort fiction from fact. A meaning of the name Luciana is light. Does this refer to Luciana as initially the object of the men’s desire, or could it refer to her role in the book of shedding light on the true nature and activities of the famous author, Kloster? Whether the older writer did or did not do the crimes, he possesses the power to make the woman and at times the narrator believe that he has.

The novel presents competing versions of reality, leaving many questions unanswered, including the trustworthiness of the characters, even the narrator. However, very disturbing is the fate of the women in the book, where if they are not useful as sexual objects, as producers of children, or as reflectors of the man’s greatness, they are objects of scorn and thus dispensable.

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The Big Over Easy / A Nursery Crime

by Jasper Fforde, Viking 2005
Reviewed by Jeanne Davis

Something’s rotten in the town of Reading. A popular local Lothario, one Humpty Dumpty, has been found dead in the courtyard behind his home and he appears to have fallen off a wall. It is also quickly learned that he not only fell but was murdered. Was he pushed? Was he shot or poisoned? It takes much detection by the chief detective of the Nursery Crimes Division to separate out false leads, conflicting evidence and political motivations. This literary town is populated with characters who have no knowledge of Mother Goose yet are destined to act in certain ways.

One of these is chief detective Jack Spratt, who is currently married for the second time and we can only guess what befell his first wife. Working for Jack is a new assistant, Mary Mary, who is much torn about her own motivations and also another assistant who speaks mostly in palindromes. The tale includes money, sex (not much and only referred to), third rate royalty, foot remedies, and lots of political infighting. Indeed the story becomes a bit ‘precious’ with much energy going into the structures of this alternative reality and including a crime story that is twisted beyond recognition. That being said, the fraternity of detectives that every upwardly rising Reading sleuth hopes to join is an exclusive club descended from the Strand Magazine. Its approved methods are directly attributed to Dr. Watson. Enjoy!

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A series you'll wish never ends: The Merrily Watkins Mysteries.

Reviewed by Jerry Handspicker

Phil Rickman is a Brit who lives on the Welsh border, has written novels of an eerie kind, and has won awards for his TV and radio journalism. But he began a series of mysteries featuring the Rev. Merrily Watkins as his protagonist. Merrily is the vicar of a small parish in the village of Lewardine--also on the Welsh border. But by the second novel in the series she has also taken on the post of diocesan deliverance minister (the new name for exorcist). This often puts her on the shaky edge between the normal and the paranormal. But what makes her interesting is her entrancing mixture of skepticism, openmindedness, and innocence.

While Rickman is a master at plotting, these novels are strongly character-driven. After reading the first few one keeps wanting to see how the interesting people you have come to know continue to interact and develop. One watches Jane Watkins, Merrily's early teen-age daughter in the first novel (The Wine of Angels), grow through the teen-age years into an interesting young adult. One reviewer puts it concisely: "Rickman's handling of dialogue is unmatchable and it is impossible to believe his characters don't exist." It is good that the novels are quite long, for as the same reviewer also remakrs, "I read them in strictly rationed installments to make the enjoyment last longer."

The Sunday Mercury commends the series, "The underlhing themes of change, conflict, hidden worlds and inexplicable evil are a reminder that good fiction based on unsettling ideas can be illuminating as any number of earnets documentaires. Kirkus Reviews adds, "Merrily links criminal, psychological, moral, sociological, spiritual and supernatural realms to dig deeper into evil-doing just when most fictional sleuths would be calling it quits.

The books are all published in Great Britain, but happily they are distributed in the States by Trafalgar Square in North Pomfret, Vermont. The Bennington Bookstore carries them, and I believe Northshire as well. Though I have the first six books in paperback, I became so impatient that the last three I have purchased in hardback from amazon.co.uk!

Phil Rickman has a web site and is quite willing to correspond. I have had a great time sharing theological and spiritual insights and questions with him over the past few years. Grab The Wine of Angels and begin. You'll have eight more to look forward to when you have finished. And you can correspond with the author along the way if you have a mind to do so!

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The Oriental Casebook of Sherlock Holmes

By Ted Riccardi Random House 2003

True Sherlocians will read anything about the master. (Well, almost anything. Sherlock in Love and the Laurie King books after The Bee Keeper’s Apprentice are hard to take.) This book would seem to be a fine addition to the informal canon of pastiches that became a cottage industry of sorts when Nicholas Meyer reinvigorated the tradition almost thirty years ago. The stories in this volume recount Holmes’ adventures during the great hiatus from 1891-1894. This is an inspired concept with many possibilities. Although there are some delightful ideas, particularly the one about the origins of the Moriarity brothers, the stories are limited by the fact that they are told by Holmes to Watson about the past. This puts the reader at a double distance from the events. The other problem of Holmes as a narrator is that he has no one to admire him. To increase suspense Holmes will often interrupt the stories for a walk with Watson or to have dinner. However, this doesn’t quite do it. Most of the stories are too long and too similar. Holmes is in disguise, some scholar or diplomat is missing and Holmes must find him. This he does not through detection as much as through his contacts, who seem to recognize him quite easily. The stories get better towards the end of the book. In an afterword, Watson makes the point that the time in the Orient changed Holmes. This would account for the difference in Holmes that has often been noted in the accounts of the adventures after the Reichenbach Falls. Riccardi indicates that there are more stories in the tin box that he has acquired. If so, one hopes that they will not share the shortcomings of this selection. The cadences of Watson’s voice are here, but Doyle’s stories were usually brisk and brief. A little less atmosphere and a little more action would capitalize on the potential that Riccardi shows, but does not completely realize, in this volume.

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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

By Mark Haddon Doubleday 2003

This book has received much praise, deservedly so. It is a moving and involving book. The narrator is fifteen-year-old Christopher Boone. Or as Christopher would say, fifteen years, three months and three days. Christopher is a high functioning autistic individual. He is writing the story of what happened when he found his neighbor’s dog killed by a large garden fork. He wants to find out who did it. He has the observational powers of an individual who is obsessive. He admires Sherlock Holmes and in many ways uses his skills in a similar fashion. His father tells him to drop the matter, but Christopher does not. The author helps us see inside the mind of a disabled individual with remarkable clarity. Although Christopher may not function as other people do, he is an accurate and complete reporter. We get to know people and to understand them from his report, even though he may not. We know for example that his father is imperfect, but loves Christopher deeply. Christopher can only see that his father has betrayed his trust. Christopher starts on a brave journey and we are excited to see him accomplish his goals even as we fear for his physical safety. There is a great deal of transformation in this book on the part of many of the characters. When the book is over and Christopher recognizes all that he has achieved, we are thrilled for him. The skill in writing this book is truly impressive. Some have suggested that Holmes might have had Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of autism. This is probably idle speculation as is much about Sherlock Holmes. However, Holmes’ claim to lack emotions because they would interfere with his work is put to the test in this book. Christopher does not lack emotions. He gets angry and frightened, but his emotions work differently than do those of other people. More than a mystery novel, this is an insightful representation of human behavior and relationships.

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	Home Meetings Meeting Information Meeting Archives Conference Wrap-up Photo Gallery About Us Club History Newsletters Sherlockian Events Sherlockian Events Book Discussion Series Fun Information Chat Room Articles Quizzes Book Reviews Mysteries Links Contact Book Reviews.. The Book of Murder The Big Over Easy / A Nursery Crime A series you'll wish never ends: The Merrily Watkins Mysteries. The Oriental Casebook of Sherlock Holmes The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time Oscar Wilde and a Game Called Murder A Slight Trick of the Mind The Book of Murder Guillermo Martinez Trans. From Spanish by Sonia Soto Reviewed by Ellen Higgins The Book of Murder (2007; English trans., Sonia Soto, 2008) by GuillermoMartinez is the author’s second book focusing on crime. An Argentinian writer, Martinez, who has a Ph.D. in mathematical logic from the University of Buenos Aires where he currently teaches, has written over a half-dozen books, including novels, short stories, and essays. His previous and most successful novel, The Oxford Murders (2003)–turned into a movie in 2008 (dir. Alex de la Iglesia)–centered on crime and mathematics but had a murder early in the book with true detection, attempts to solve the mathematical symbols as well as the series of crimes. Yet a mystery critic felt that this book fell short of genre conventions (http//who-dunnit.com/authors/202). The Book of Murder, touted by the publisher as in the vein of Alfred Hitchcock, is even less a traditional mystery and more a suspense involving the psychology of fear, jealousy, accusation, conspiracy. The narrator of the novel is an unnamed, young writer fascinated by Kloster, an older and famous writer of crime novels. When they coincidentally share an administrative assistant, Luciana, their lives briefly intersect–both are obsessed with the young woman and whether she is giving the other author sexual favors. Luciana reappears ten years later seeking the help of the narrator. Terrified, she relates the history of the past ten years in which a series of deaths of family and friends have occurred. Although the deaths have been ruled accidental, she claims that they have been perpetuated by Kloster in revenge for her taking up a sexual harassment case against him, which destroyed his marriage. She also points to similarities in the way the victims died to the deaths in Kloster’s own novels. Luciano fears not only for her life but for those of her remaining relatives, a grandmother and sister. The novel goes back and forth between present time and earlier times, as the events of the decade are juxtaposed to the reunion of Luciana and the narrator. The narrator must confront his own prejudices and jealousy as he tries to sort fiction from fact. A meaning of the name Luciana is light. Does this refer to Luciana as initially the object of the men’s desire, or could it refer to her role in the book of shedding light on the true nature and activities of the famous author, Kloster? Whether the older writer did or did not do the crimes, he possesses the power to make the woman and at times the narrator believe that he has. The novel presents competing versions of reality, leaving many questions unanswered, including the trustworthiness of the characters, even the narrator. However, very disturbing is the fate of the women in the book, where if they are not useful as sexual objects, as producers of children, or as reflectors of the man’s greatness, they are objects of scorn and thus dispensable. [ Top of Page ] The Big Over Easy / A Nursery Crime by Jasper Fforde, Viking 2005 Reviewed by Jeanne Davis Something’s rotten in the town of Reading. A popular local Lothario, one Humpty Dumpty, has been found dead in the courtyard behind his home and he appears to have fallen off a wall. It is also quickly learned that he not only fell but was murdered. Was he pushed? Was he shot or poisoned? It takes much detection by the chief detective of the Nursery Crimes Division to separate out false leads, conflicting evidence and political motivations. This literary town is populated with characters who have no knowledge of Mother Goose yet are destined to act in certain ways. One of these is chief detective Jack Spratt, who is currently married for the second time and we can only guess what befell his first wife. Working for Jack is a new assistant, Mary Mary, who is much torn about her own motivations and also another assistant who speaks mostly in palindromes. The tale includes money, sex (not much and only referred to), third rate royalty, foot remedies, and lots of political infighting. Indeed the story becomes a bit ‘precious’ with much energy going into the structures of this alternative reality and including a crime story that is twisted beyond recognition. That being said, the fraternity of detectives that every upwardly rising Reading sleuth hopes to join is an exclusive club descended from the Strand Magazine. Its approved methods are directly attributed to Dr. Watson. Enjoy! [ Top of Page ] A series you'll wish never ends: The Merrily Watkins Mysteries. Reviewed by Jerry Handspicker Phil Rickman is a Brit who lives on the Welsh border, has written novels of an eerie kind, and has won awards for his TV and radio journalism. But he began a series of mysteries featuring the Rev. Merrily Watkins as his protagonist. Merrily is the vicar of a small parish in the village of Lewardine--also on the Welsh border. But by the second novel in the series she has also taken on the post of diocesan deliverance minister (the new name for exorcist). This often puts her on the shaky edge between the normal and the paranormal. But what makes her interesting is her entrancing mixture of skepticism, openmindedness, and innocence. While Rickman is a master at plotting, these novels are strongly character-driven. After reading the first few one keeps wanting to see how the interesting people you have come to know continue to interact and develop. One watches Jane Watkins, Merrily's early teen-age daughter in the first novel (The Wine of Angels), grow through the teen-age years into an interesting young adult. One reviewer puts it concisely: "Rickman's handling of dialogue is unmatchable and it is impossible to believe his characters don't exist." It is good that the novels are quite long, for as the same reviewer also remakrs, "I read them in strictly rationed installments to make the enjoyment last longer." The Sunday Mercury commends the series, "The underlhing themes of change, conflict, hidden worlds and inexplicable evil are a reminder that good fiction based on unsettling ideas can be illuminating as any number of earnets documentaires. Kirkus Reviews adds, "Merrily links criminal, psychological, moral, sociological, spiritual and supernatural realms to dig deeper into evil-doing just when most fictional sleuths would be calling it quits. The books are all published in Great Britain, but happily they are distributed in the States by Trafalgar Square in North Pomfret, Vermont. The Bennington Bookstore carries them, and I believe Northshire as well. Though I have the first six books in paperback, I became so impatient that the last three I have purchased in hardback from amazon.co.uk! Phil Rickman has a web site and is quite willing to correspond. I have had a great time sharing theological and spiritual insights and questions with him over the past few years. Grab The Wine of Angels and begin. You'll have eight more to look forward to when you have finished. And you can correspond with the author along the way if you have a mind to do so! [ Top of Page ] The Oriental Casebook of Sherlock Holmes By Ted Riccardi Random House 2003 True Sherlocians will read anything about the master. (Well, almost anything. Sherlock in Love and the Laurie King books after The Bee Keeper’s Apprentice are hard to take.) This book would seem to be a fine addition to the informal canon of pastiches that became a cottage industry of sorts when Nicholas Meyer reinvigorated the tradition almost thirty years ago. The stories in this volume recount Holmes’ adventures during the great hiatus from 1891-1894. This is an inspired concept with many possibilities. Although there are some delightful ideas, particularly the one about the origins of the Moriarity brothers, the stories are limited by the fact that they are told by Holmes to Watson about the past. This puts the reader at a double distance from the events. The other problem of Holmes as a narrator is that he has no one to admire him. To increase suspense Holmes will often interrupt the stories for a walk with Watson or to have dinner. However, this doesn’t quite do it. Most of the stories are too long and too similar. Holmes is in disguise, some scholar or diplomat is missing and Holmes must find him. This he does not through detection as much as through his contacts, who seem to recognize him quite easily. The stories get better towards the end of the book. In an afterword, Watson makes the point that the time in the Orient changed Holmes. This would account for the difference in Holmes that has often been noted in the accounts of the adventures after the Reichenbach Falls. Riccardi indicates that there are more stories in the tin box that he has acquired. If so, one hopes that they will not share the shortcomings of this selection. The cadences of Watson’s voice are here, but Doyle’s stories were usually brisk and brief. A little less atmosphere and a little more action would capitalize on the potential that Riccardi shows, but does not completely realize, in this volume. [ Top of Page ] The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time By Mark Haddon Doubleday 2003 This book has received much praise, deservedly so. It is a moving and involving book. The narrator is fifteen-year-old Christopher Boone. Or as Christopher would say, fifteen years, three months and three days. Christopher is a high functioning autistic individual. He is writing the story of what happened when he found his neighbor’s dog killed by a large garden fork. He wants to find out who did it. He has the observational powers of an individual who is obsessive. He admires Sherlock Holmes and in many ways uses his skills in a similar fashion. His father tells him to drop the matter, but Christopher does not. The author helps us see inside the mind of a disabled individual with remarkable clarity. Although Christopher may not function as other people do, he is an accurate and complete reporter. We get to know people and to understand them from his report, even though he may not. We know for example that his father is imperfect, but loves Christopher deeply. Christopher can only see that his father has betrayed his trust. Christopher starts on a brave journey and we are excited to see him accomplish his goals even as we fear for his physical safety. There is a great deal of transformation in this book on the part of many of the characters. When the book is over and Christopher recognizes all that he has achieved, we are thrilled for him. The skill in writing this book is truly impressive. Some have suggested that Holmes might have had Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of autism. This is probably idle speculation as is much about Sherlock Holmes. However, Holmes’ claim to lack emotions because they would interfere with his work is put to the test in this book. Christopher does not lack emotions. He gets angry and frightened, but his emotions work differently than do those of other people. More than a mystery novel, this is an insightful representation of human behavior and relationships. [ Top of Page ]