Reviews: Three Mysteries

by Elizabeth Read

Outrage by Arnaldur Indridason

In Reykjavik, a case involving murder, Rohypnol, and rape has stumped the police. And unraveling the mystery is Detective Elinborg, who appeared as a secondary character in other books in this dour Scandinavian series written by Arnaldur Indridason.

Elinborg is juggling her busy career with her home life, raising a daughter and a teenaged son. Working long hours, worrying about what her son is blogging, and concerned about her relationship with her husband, she is a typical mom trying to keep her family afloat. The homefront drama adds realism to the story and fills out the personality of the main character, though at times the information provided is overly detailed. Elinborg, it is revealed in depth, enjoys Indian cooking more than traditional Scandinavian fare and this helps her identify the scent on a shawl found at the scene of the crime.

This police procedural follows the investigational twists and turns determining who brutally murdered a young man. Elinborg uses her unique knowledge and skills to advantage as she leads the team. The story eventually winds down into a sordid tale of secret lives, drug deals, and a young girl’s disappearance years ago. The consequences of crime are examined and Indridason reveals that the effects will continue to ripple long after the events are forgotten.

At the end of the book Elinborg wonders, “What kind of a world am I living in?” And she weeps as she contemplates the horrors she’s had to confront.

The Accident by Linwood Barclay

A good suspense novel gets your heart racing a little from the get-go and then keeps you off your equilibrium, anticipating the next twist and turn. The Accident manages to do that right away, as Linwood Barclay explores the underside of living the dream in the suburbs.

The story is narrated by a recent widower, Glen Garber, who is facing problems meeting the payroll for his employees while keeping his contracting business afloat. His life is thrown into a tailspin when his wife dies while driving under the influence. While it is uncharacteristic of Sheila to have been drinking and driving, Glen discovers that there are a number of other puzzling actions that have him rethinking his relationship not only with his wife, but with his friends, neighbours, and employees.

In plot lines taken from newspaper headlines, mortgages on big homes are up for renewal at higher rates while jobs are scarce. At the same time, the cachet of designer handbags has drawn the women of the neighbourhood to the underground world of imported fakes. There is a lot more at stake once imitation drugs and electronics are factored in.

The formula for each of Linwood Barclay’s novels revolves around a mystifying situation propelling exploration by the main character. It’s a formula that has put him on the bestseller lists. However, in The Accident, the writing style seems to be less fluid than usual and the plot twists more predictable…almost as if it’s a facsimile of the genuine article.

Twelve Drummers Drumming by C. C. Benison

Twelve Drummers Drumming may have been written by an author from Manitoba but he certainly has the English village mystery genre down pat. All the important ingredients are there - a vicar, a pub, an assortment of suspicious inhabitants, and a pair of bumbling police officers named Bliss and Blessing.

The story centers on a recent arrival, the widowed priest Tom Christmas, who has moved away from the big city hoping to find a peaceful and quiet place to bring up his nine-year old daughter. During preparations for the village May Fayre on the church grounds, tragedy strikes. A large Japanese drum is found to be the repository of the body of a young woman and an artistic quilt is missing from a display. Father Christmas (as he hates to be referred to) finds himself retracing events around the disappearance of the previous vicar which seems to be connected to the current happenings. The characters are well developed and include a chatty housekeeper who writes her mother letters sharing village gossip.

The only drawback to this novel is in the way the author frustrates the reader by jumping forward in time at crucial moments in order to build suspense. It’s an artificial device that isn’t necessary to the enjoyment of this witty and whimsical mystery story.

Image courtesy of Microsoft Office.