Laidlaw

Laidlaw (Crime)

By William McIlvanney

ISBN #978-1609452018

Europa Edition www.europaeditions.com

250 Pages

Price $12.00

Rating 5-Stars

“Laidlaw Takes The Reader Through The Dark Streets of Glasgow In This Character Study Of An Unorthodox Detective.”

In an abandoned building within a run-down section of Glasgow, a young homosexual boy kills a girl in a fit of rage, as they are involved in a sex act. Calling his male lover, he asks for help, and this brings about several forces that will eventually come together. Part of the police investigative team is Laidlaw, a detective who moves in odd directions to solve a case, while the other team uses strict police procedural. The father of the girl wants to kill the boy with his own hands, while the boy’s lover works to keep him alive and get him out of town. But the man he calls wants the boy dead also, and hires his own killer. Can Laidlaw and his partner reach the boy before he is killed? It’s a rush for one side to bring a killer to trial, while the other side wants to kill a monster.

There is never a mystery to the crime, as the reader knows from the start who killed the girl and why. The main story surrounds Laidlaw, and his, perhaps, strange ways. I think his wife explains him a little for us. With love long since gone from their marriage, when he walks into her room, she says to herself, “Introducing in the red corner.” Laidlaw had been an amateur boxer, and in a way he was still fighting the world. It was definitely an interesting story, and kept me turning the pages. For readers who find local dialect charming in a book, I admit its use here made the dialogue hard to follow for me. Highly recommended for mystery readers who enjoy characters working outside the norm to solve a murder case.

Tom Johnson

Detective Mystery Stories

Dark Times In The City

Dark Times In The City (Crime Novel)

By Gene Kerrigan

ISBN #978-1609451448

Europa Editions www.europaeditions.com

320 Pages

Price $17.00

Rating 5-Stars

“A non-stop action crime novel”

Danny Callaghan has only been out of prison for a few months, when one evening in a bar two men enter with guns. At first Danny thinks they are after him, then an ex con he knew in stir begs him for help, and he interrupts the gunmen, allowing their target to escape. He doesn’t realize what he’s done. Now Danny’s is in their sights.

The Irish underworld controls Ireland in a grip of death, and when two king pins think about overthrowing each other, people begin dying. When one man, even an ex con like Danny, stands up to stop a hit, it’s a minor annoyance but one that’s easily overcome. That is, unless things go drastically wrong with the plans. The author follows each of the main characters, and we see into the minds of men with evil hearts as well as good. In truth, the killers think they are the heroes, and the authority and those that interfere with them are the evil ones. One minute they order the torture and death of the innocent, the next they pray to God that He guides their plans to completion. Perhaps in the end, Danny Callaghan is the reluctant hero. This is a fast-paced page-turner. There is never really a mystery, except on who will come out of the battle in the end. For anyone that likes a crime novel, this one will satisfy you.

Tom Johnson

Detective Mystery Stories  

Betrothal, Betrayal, And Blood

Betrothal, Betrayal, And Blood

By JoAnna Senger

Now available from Amazon and www.bloodredshadow.com

$15.50

How does a small, self-contained city react to a brutal murder in its only tourist attraction? Hush it up? Blame an unknown outsider? Find a scapegoat? Then what? Ask Karl Kelly and Vito Kostowki, San Tobino detectives baffled by the outrageous murders of various visitors to Milady’s Manor: nothing taken, nothing left behind, unrelated victims, no clues. Milady’s Manor puts San Tobino on the map due to its 200 rooms each lavishly decorated according to a unique theme. But what if tourists stop coming? However, not all the citizens concern themselves with the local tourist industry. Some of them are too buy shopping. Or having affairs. Or covering up murder.

Betrothal, Betrayal, And Blood

Betrothal, Betrayal, And Blood (Crime Novel)

By JoAnna Senger

NTD www.bloodredshadow.com

ISBN #978-1-937769-08-6

Price: $15.50

205 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“A Smooth And Entertaining Read.”

In San Tobino, a small town on the Central Coast of California, the popular resort hotel, Milady’s Manor becomes the scene of gruesome murders. Leads are few in this sleepy little community, and the police are stymied. It seems the murders are set up to follow the popular rooms different décor. The DinoWorld Room is set up as a prehistoric landscape, and then there are the Marie Antoinette Room, the Gibraltar Room, and the Lucretia Borgia Room. Each murder is enacted according to the rooms’ décor. What could be the motive, the authorities wonder?

The negatives of this book are cosmetic for the most part. There is little mystery, as we meet the killer before half way into the book. However, even that wasn’t necessary. The title alone tells us the plot. If it didn’t, the cover would have. A broken wedding ring, with a husband and wife inserted within the circle of the ring, and a handsome stranger standing alone outside the ring’s perimeter.  If I had seen this book on a paperback spinner rack, I would have passed it by for I knew the story without opening it. And that would have been a shame.

The author’s writing is superb, and the story keeps the reader’s interest from the opening page to the final chapter. We follow the police investigators, as well as the sordid adulterous affair that leads to the gruesome murders. An added compliment to the tale is the diary entries of a witness. Another nice aspect is the inclusion of a female private detective, and I would be surprised if we don’t see her in future novels of her own series.

The plot is good, though over-used in these type crime novels, but Ms Senger’s story-telling ability, and characterization is what captures the reader throughout. I can’t help but wonder what a new title – say, “Murders At Milady’s Manor”, or a simple “Murder In Room 313”, and a cover illustrating the crime scene from one of the picturesque rooms would do for the book? But with or without a cover, this novel is topnotch, and well worth the read!