Books Set in Europe and North America, Germany and New York, New York

The Girl Who Rode the White Lion, by Yishay Ishi Ron (2026)

This novel moves back and forth from the late 1930s in Germany to New York City in the late 1950s.  Mark Spence is a veterinarian for the Central Park Zoo in 1957.  When a rare white lion dies, he performs the autopsy.  He finds an SS Nazi silver ring in the lion's gut, which leads him on a hunt to find the story behind the ring.

The story then takes the reader to Nazi Germany on Kristallnacht, where a vicious SS officer used the violence to terrorize the family of a former Jewish friend.  He immediately sent his former friend to a concentration camp, but plays a cat-and-mouse with his friend's wife and young daughter.  The mother takes her daughter, Sarah Frank, to the circus, which is in town, hoping they can hide out in the crowd there.  Sarah is unofficially adopted by the circus manager and his wife.

Meanwhile, Mark Spence begins an international hunt to find clues as to the origin of the Nazi ring.

The mystery slowly unfolds with lots of twists and turns.  The story of young Sarah Frank is more interesting than that of Mark Spence.  Still, it was a fascinating novel that I read in one sitting.

Read:  September 16, 2026

4 Stars

Books Set in Europe, Ireland

In the Woods, by Tana French (2007)

This mystery novel is narrated by Adam Robert Ryan.  He and his Murder Squad partner, Cassie Maddox,  are investigating the murder of a young girl, which took place in the same woods where Ryan was the victim of a crime as a young boy.  

When Ryan was 12-years old, he and two friends were victims of a mysterious crime.  His two friends disappeared, and Ryan was found covered in blood.  His family moved away from the village, and he dropped Adam from his name, and became known as Rob Ryan.  When he is assigned to the murder case years later, he did not recuse himself from the case.  The proximity of the new crime triggered vague memories from his own past.

This novel is well written and kept my attention.  I really liked the interaction between Ryan and Maddox as we follow the current murder as well as Rob's mysterious past.

This was Tana French's first novel.  I will definitely be looking for more of her books.

Read:  March 3, 2026

4 Stars

Books Set in North America, Upstate New York

The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore (2024)

Read: November 20, 2025

4 Stars

Books Set in Europe; England

The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, by Eva Jurczyk (2022)

Read:  June 27, 2025

3 Stars

Books Set in Asia: Jeddah, Saudia Arabia

Finding Nouf, by Zoe Ferraris (2007)

Read:  December 25, 2023

4.5 Stars

Books Set in England

Moonflower Murders, by Anthony Horowitz (2020)

Read: December 20, 2023

3 Stars

Susan Ryeland #2

Books Set in Europe: United Kingdom

Payment in Blood, Elizabeth George (1998)

Payment in Blood is the second in the Inspector Thomas Lynley / Barbara Havers mystery series.  This novel starts out as pure Agatha Christie.  On a cold winter night, playwright Joy Sinclair was found murdered in her bedroom in a snowbound estate in a remote town in Scotland.  She had been a guest at the manor along with a handful of actors who were to be in Sinclair’s next play, the producer, a drama critic, the director, and his lady love, Lady Helen Clyde, and the servants.  One of them must surely be the murderer.

For reasons that are not immediately apparent, Lynley and Havers were sent to investigate the murder.  Lynley enlists the help of his forensic friend, Simon St. James, to assist in the investigation.  Odd, because Scotland Yard had virtually no authority over the crime committed in Scotland.  Lynley is in love with Lady Helen, and so focuses his attention on Rhys Davies-Jones, who was sleeping with Helen in the room adjacent to Joy Sinclair’s room.  Havers and St. James, however, focus on Sinclair’s revised play, which they believe holds the key to the murder.

Complicating the investigation is the 1973 of Hannah Darrow.  What is her connection with the manor?  Was her death really a suicide?  Following clues leading to her death point to a spy scandal involving the family that owns the manor.

This is the second novel in the series.  The author is still introducing the characters.  Lady Helen seems to have many lovers.  Havers lives with her working-class parents and feels quite out of place with her aristocratic partner.  Lynley has some skeletons in his past, which are only hinted at, although we learned from the first book that he was the driver responsible for the accident that crippled St. James.

I am glad that I started this series in the middle where the characters are more developed.  Had I started at the beginning of the series, I probably would not have been compelled to read further.

Read: June 23, 2023

3 Stars

Other Books Read in the Series:

A Great Deliverance (# 1)  //  Read June 1, 2023

Well-Schooled in Murder (# 3)  //  Read June 29, 2003

For the Sake of Elana (# 5)  //  Read February 21, 1994

Missing Joseph (# 6)  //  Read June 12, 1996 and January 25, 2003

Playing for the Ashes (# 7)  //  Read January 6, 1996

A Traitor to Memory (# 11)  //  Read January 3, 2004

With No One as Witness (# 13)  //  Read May 13, 2023

A Banquet of Consequences (# 19)  //  Read July 4, 2018

Books Set in Europe, United Kingdom, England

A Great Deliverance, by Elizabeth George (1988)  //  Inspector Thomas Lynley # 1

This is the first in the Lynley / Havers detective series.  It provides the origin story of how Barbara Havers, a somewhat cantankerous low-level Detective Sergeant in the Scotland Yard, begins working with the aristocratic Inspector Thomas Lynley.

The novel revolves around a murder in a small village north of London.  A teenage girl confessed to beheading her father, but some of the townfolk question whether or not she actually committed the crime.  Enter Lynley and Havers.

The reader learns some of the backstories of Lynley and Havers.  Lynley is dating Helen, but he is also something of a lothario.  We are also introduced to Simon St. James, who is a close friend of Lynley and planned on a career in law enforcement before he was crippled in a car accident.  Lynley was the intoxicated driver of the car.  St. James just married Deborah, who was a former lover of Lynley.

Meanwhile, we learn a bit about Havers’ background.  She comes from a lower-middle class family and lost her young brother to leukemia when he was a child.  His death lies heavy on her family life.

I didn’t find the mystery as intriguing as other stories in the series.

Read: June 1, 2023

3 Stars

Other Books Read in the Series:

Well-Schooled in Murder (# 3)  //  Read June 29, 2003

For the Sake of Elana (#5)  //  Read February 21, 1994

Missing Joseph (# 6)  //  Read June 12, 1996 and January 25, 2003

Playing for the Ashes (# 7)  //  Read January 6, 1996

A Traitor to Memory (# 11)  //  Read January 3, 2004

With No One as Witness (#13)  //  Read May 13, 2023

A Banquet of Consequences (# 19)  //  Read July 4, 2018

Books Set in Europe: United Kingdom, London, England

With No One As Witness, by Elizabeth George (2005)  //  Inspector Thomas Lynley # 13

 

This mystery novel is the thirteenth in the Inspector Thomas Lynley series.  It had been nearly a decade since I read the last Lynley novel.  While each novel is a stand-alone mystery, it seemed that there was a lot in this book that relied on considerable knowledge of the characters backstories.  That being said …

 

New Scotland Yard officers, Inspector Lynley (Acting Superintendent Lynley in this volume) and his sidekick Constable Barbara Havers (she had apparently been demoted from Sergeant in the previous novel), have stumbled upon a serial killer.  Three mixed race young boys were left for dead before Kimmo Thorne, a young white, gay female impersonator, turned up dead.  The prior three bodies had been assumed to be runaways and their deaths weren’t thoroughly investigated.  It isn’t until Kimmo’s body is found that the police compare notes and realize that all the deaths were committed in a similar fashion.  To curb accusations of institutional racism, Winston Nkata was hastily promoted to Sergeant to serve as the face for the press briefings.

 

Lynley and his team’s investigation led them to Colossus, a low-budget organization intended to help at-risk children.  The Colossus employees and volunteers all have checkered pasts.  Could they have a hand in the murders?  There also appears to be a link to shady organization called MABIL (Men And Boys In Love), a group of pedophiles who groom young boys for sex.  When a fifth body is found, there are some substantial differences, leading the investigators to believe there may be a copy-cat killing.

 

In between following where the evidence may lead, the reader also gets a peek into the private lives of Lynley and Havers.  Lynley’s wife is expecting their first child, while Havers lives her solitary life and tries to connect with her neighbor.  Their lives are not without their own personal drama and tragedy.  [Spoiler Alert:  Lynley’s wife, Helen, was shot on her doorstep in the wealthy neighborhood of Belgravia.  By the time she was transported to the hospital, too much time had elapsed, and she was brain dead.  Both she and her unborn baby were taken off life support.  Also, the book ends with Lynley appearing to turn in his badge.]

 

This book comes in at over 600 pages.  While it kept my attention, it could have been pared down to about half that size.  I also found one plot thread to have been resolved too quickly.  Still, I enjoy reading about the gentry Thomas Lynley and his working-class side-kick, Barbara Havers.

 

Read:  May 13, 2023

 

4 Stars

 

Other Books Read in the Series:

Well-Schooled in Murder (# 3)  //  Read June 29, 2003

For the Sake of Elana (#5)  //  Read February 21, 1994

Missing Joseph (# 6)  //  Read June 12, 1996 and January 25, 2003

Playing for the Ashes (# 7)  //  Read January 6, 1996

A Traitor to Memory (# 11)  //  Read January 3, 2004

A Banquet of Consequences (# 19)  //  Read July 4, 2018

 

 

Books Set in North America: Baltimore, Maryland USA

Lady in the Lake, by Laura Lippman (2019)

 

This is a delightful suspense novel that takes place in Baltimore in the 1960s.  Maddie Schwartz is a 37-year old bored Jewish housewife who suddenly leaves her husband and son to be on her own.  She realized that she needs money, so stages a fake robbery so she can collect the insurance money on her engagement and wedding rings.  This brings her in contact with Ferdie, an African-American police officer.  Soon they find themselves in a passionate affair.  They can’t be seen in public, however, because (1) she is still married, and (2) because interracial relationships are illegal in 1960s Maryland.

 

After a young girl goes missing, Maddie joins a search group and discovers the body.  This sparks her interest in pursuing a job as a reporter.  She wrangles her way into a small job at one of Baltimore’s newspapers. When the body of Cleo Sherwood, a young African-American woman, is discovered in a fountain, Maddie becomes obsessed with the woman’s death.  She relentlessly pursues leads to find out what happened to the dead woman.

 

The story slowly unfolds from Maddie’s point of view, as well as that of several other characters, including the ghost of Cleo.  The novel gently also touches upon many social issues of the 1960s, including racism, classism, sexism, and gender matters.  The solution, once it was revealed, was a surprise twist, but one that fit nicely into the story.  [Spoiler Alert:  Cleo, it turns out, didn't die.  The body in the fountain was that of her roommate, whom no one would miss.  Cleo wanted to disappear so she could marry her lover.]

Read: February 21, 2023

4 Stars

 

Books Set in the World: Unnamed city and country

The Maid, by Nita Prose (2022)

 

Molly Gray is a maid in a fancy hotel.  She takes pride in her work and lives to return hotel rooms to a “state of perfection”.  The novel is written in first person with Molly as the narrator.  She knows that she sees the world differently from others.  Her deceased grandmother has taught her how to interact with others.

 

She has few friends but takes people at face value.  She finds Rodney, the hotel’s bar tender, to be dreamy. When he sets a time to meet with her about a particular matter, she thinks she is on a date.  She is also friendly with Mr. Preston, the doorman, and Juan Manuel, the dishwasher.  Mr. Preston seems to care about Molly and, knowing that she perceives the world differently from most people, tries to warn her that not everyone has her best interest at heart.

 

One day, Molly goes in to clean a room only to find Mr. Charles Black, a very important and repeat guest in the hotel, dead on the bed.  Molly follows protocol and calls reception to report the death.  She takes careful note of the room but is unable to read the people involved in the investigation.  Soon, she finds herself as the prime suspect.  She knows she didn’t commit the murder and wants to clear her name.

 

The Maid is an absolutely delightful novel.

 

 Read:  January 15, 2023

5 Stars

Books Set in Europe: England

The Appeal, by Janice Hallett (2021)

 

This little mystery novel is written entirely in emails, letters, and messages.  It’s a clever gimmick.  We know from the beginning that someone was murdered and the accused is awaiting an appeal.  The title, The Appeal, has two meanings: (a) two young lawyers are tasked with reviewing the documents for the appeal; and (b) the family of a young child suffering from a rare form of cancer, is making an appeal for money for treatment.

 

As the reader goes through the documents the characters come to life.  The novel focuses on a small-town family-owned amateur theater group known as The Fairway Players.  They decide to put on Arthur Miller’s play All My Sons to raise money for Poppy, the 2-year-old with cancer.  Poppy is the granddaughter of Martin and Helen Hayward, the wealthy family and owner of the theater.  Helen is always the star of all the stage productions.  Since this is an amateur theater, the actors all have other jobs.  Most of the actors are in the medical field and work at one of the two near-by hospitals.

 

All is not as it seem, however, and each character has a secret.  As the young lawyers sift through the documentation, they come up with their own theories of who the killer or killers may be.

 

This was a fun and very quick read.  I had been in a reading dry-spell and this is just what I needed to get back into reading again.

 

Read:  November 7, 2022

 

4 Stars

 

 

Books Set in Europe; Tuscany, Italy

The Light in the Ruins, by Chris Bohjalian (2013)

 

The action of the novel The Light in Ruins, takes place in the last years of World War II in Tuscany, Italy and again 10 years later.  The novel opens with the murder of Francesca Rosati in the 1950s.  She had formerly been the aristocratic wife of a wealthy family in Tuscany.  She was found with her throat cut and her heard removed.  Soon thereafter, another member of the family is murdered in a similar MO.

 

Detective Serafina Bettini was assigned to investigate Francesca’s murder.  When another member of the Rosati family is murdered in a similar manner to Francesca, Sarafina believes there is a link which is related to the family’s activity during the War.  The Rosati family had been coerced to host Nazi and Fascist forces during the final days of the War.

 

On the Rosati estate were underground ancient Etruscan ruins and tombs.  Filled with ancient artifact, the Nazi’s professed an interest in the relics, but had an ulterior motive of sending the valuables back to Nazi leaders.

 

Serafina, who had been a partisan during the War, suffered severe burns, the scars of which caused her to be self-conscious.  Her investigation brings her to the Rosati estate, which triggers vague memories of her participation during the War.

 

During the final days of the War, the Rosatis family was forced to host the Nazis and the Fascists.  Ancient Etruscan ruins and underground tombs were located on the grounds of their estate.  The Nazi’s profess an interest in the tombs but have an ulterior motive of sending valuable relics back to their leaders.

 

Meanwhile, Cristina Rosati, the 18-year-old daughter, fell in love with a Nazi soldier.  This did not endear her to her family or to the local villagers.

 

Serafina’s investigation of the murders forces her to face her own ghosts from the war.  I didn’t find the ending completely satisfying, but the novel held my interest.

 

Read:  September 14, 2022

 

3.5 Stars

Books Set in Europe; England

A Slow Fire Burning, by Paula Hawkins (2021)

Read: August 25, 2022

4 Stars

Books Set in Africa: Kenya

A Death in Kenya, by M.M. Kaye (1958)

This cozy murder mystery takes place against the background of the Kenya Emergency, as the British called it, or the Mau Mau Uprising.  It was the war in the British Kenya Colony between the Mau Mau and the British authorities that took place in the 1950s.  The major characters in the novel are British and live on large, and isolated, farms in rural Kenya with many African servants.  The attitudes of the white characters reflects the attitude towards their servants as would have been during this time period.

Lady Emily (Em) Debrett has lived in Kenya her entire life.  At age 72, she still run her farm estate, named The Flamingo.  It is her dream to build a family dynasty to be passed down through generations.  She lives on The Flamingo with her grandson, Eden, and his wife, Alice.  She seems dismissive of the uprising, believing that her family will live in Kenya long after it ceases to be a colony.

When the novel opens, a “poltergeist” has been wreaking havoc at The Flamingo.  Valuable items are broken or gone missing.  This, and the raging uprising between the Mau Mau and the British causes tension among the British farmers.

Lady Emily invites her young niece, Victoria, to The Flamingo help with the accounting books.  Victoria grew up in Kenya and has fond memories of the area.  She had been engaged to Eden, so has some trepidation about joining her aunt in Kenya but doesn’t want to disappoint the family.

The day Victoria is to arrive in Kenya, Eden’s wife has been found brutally murdered.  Alice had been returning to The Flamingo from the home of Gilly Markham.  Markham was The Flamingo’s estate manager, albeit he was more interested in music and drinking than tending to the estate.  He lived with his wife, Lisa, who was in love with Eden.  Was she killed by one of the servants?

Shortly Victoria’s arrival in Kenya, the white settlers travel into the countryside for a picnic.  After their meal, the participants go in separate ways to explore.  Then, another death occurs.  Suddenly, everyone becomes a suspect.  Secrets are revealed and past grudges erupt.

This was a fun read in the vein of Agatha Christie mystery novels.

Read: December 12, 2021

         February 24, 1995

3 Stars

Books Set in North America: United States: Arizona

Edge of Evil, by J.A. Jance (2006)  //  Ali Reynolds Series # 1

 

This is the first book in the Ali Reynolds mystery series.  The reader is introduced to Alison Reynolds.  She is 45 years old and a news anchor in Los Angeles.  After reporting on the news one day, she is abruptly fired.  Ostensibly it is because the station wants to go in a different direction, but it she is past her “sell-by” date.  At the same time, her marriage to her 2^nd husband is crumbling.  Her first husband died of cancer in his twenties, leaving her a young widow about to give birth to their child.  Twenty-two years later, she returns to her parents’ home in Arizona to decide what to do next.

 

She also has learned that her best friend from childhood has died.  Reenie had just been diagnosed with ALS.  One snowy night, she apparently drove her car over a cliff.  The police quickly determine that Reenie committed suicide, knowing of the ravages of ALS and wanting to spare her family the effects of the disease.  To Ali, however, the suicide just doesn’t seem to fit Reenie’s personality.  Still in her reporter mode, Ali begins asking questions.

 

She quickly learns that Reenie’s marriage was also on the rocks and that her husband had a girlfriend who was an open secret.  No sooner than Reenie has died, than the girlfriend moves into her home.

 

Ali’s son convinces Ali to start a blog.  In her blog, she begins to address domestic violence.  The book was written 15 years ago, when blogging and wide-spread of the internet was still fairly new.  It was amusing, therefore, to read the descriptions of Ali using the internet and creating her blog.  Technology has moved lightyears in the past 15 years!

 

The book was well written, but its purpose seemed primarily to introduce the reader to Ali Reynolds.  The mystery and solution of whether or not Reenie committed suicide seemed almost incidental to the novel.

 

Read: June 1, 2021

 

3 Stars

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~

Credible Threat, by J.A. Jance (2020)  //  Ali Reynolds Series # 15

 

This is the first book I have read by J.A. Jance, but it is the 15th book in her Ali Reynolds series.  The author spends some time providing the reader with some background from prior books in the series, but the novel can stand on its own.  Apparently in prior novels, Ali works with her husband B. Simpson in solving mysteries.  In this book, B. Simpson is abroad working on his own project, so Ali is left to work on her own to solve this mystery.

 

Rachel Higgins is a 70-year old woman whose marriage to a controlling husband has fallen apart.  When their only son, David, died of an overdose years earlier, her husband basically lost his will to go on.  He lost his job and spends his days making bird houses.  Rachel and her husband barely speak to each other.  The book begins when Rachel learns that David turned to drugs because he had been abused by a priest when in high school and he couldn’t confide in anyone.  

 

Rachel vows to take revenge upon the Church and her target is Francis Gillespie, the aged Archbishop in Phoenix, Arizona.  Little does she know that the Archbishop had taken a strong stand against the pedophilic priests in his diocese.  Rachel begins by sending the Archbishop threatening notes that she drops into the collection plates in a number of churches throughout the diocese.  The Archbishop went to the local police; however, he was told that the threats were not credible, hence, he turns to his friend Ali.

 

Rachel has gone to great lengths to create the “perfect” crime as she continues to plot her revenge on the Archbishop.  Can Ali stop Rachel before she kills?  Will Rachel’s husband come out of his shell and thwart Rachel’s plans?

 

Great literature this is not, however, it was a fun and quick read.  I will definitely go back and start reading this series from its first book.

 

Read:  May 7, 2021

 

4 Stars

 

Books Set in Asia: Mumbai, India

Murder at the Grand Raj Palace, by Vaseem Khan (2018)

 

Ashwin Chopra is a retired police inspector who has started his own investigation agency.  Somehow, after his retirement, he was gifted with a baby elephant that he named Ganesha.  Ganesha follows wither Chopra or his wife, Poppy, everywhere … even to the posh Grand Raj Palace.

 

The novel begins when art collector Hollis Burbank was found dead in his hotel room with a knife in his chest.  He had just outbid a rival collector for a painting by one of India’s most famous artists.  The police commissioner is ready to call Burbank’s death a suicide, but the officer in charge thinks otherwise so calls Chopra to assist with the investigation.  When the commissioner learns that Chopra has been called in to assist, he quickly tells him to back off the official investigation.

 

Lisa Taylor, the art broker who convinced Burbank to go to Mumbai for the auction, then hires Chopra to continue with the murder investigation.  Lisa is a sexy young British woman who always seems to pop into Chopra’s investigation when Poppy is around.  Poppy, who has trying to plan a special 25^th wedding anniversary, begins to get jealous.

 

While Chopra is looking into the potential murder of Burbank, Poppy becomes involved in the wedding plans of two aristocratic families with a decades-long family feud.  The two families are ostensibly marrying to protect one family from the brink of bankruptcy.  Poppy’s advice to the young bride to follow her heart, leading the bride-to-be to vanish without a trace.

 

Meanwhile, Burbank, it seems, was a very unpleasant man.  No one liked him and he made enemies everywhere he went.  Thus, Chopra quickly comes up with a long list of potential killers.  The list grows longer when Chopra learned that 30 years earlier, Burbank was known as Roger Penzance and was a chemical engineer at a company involved with a chemical leak.  The chemical disaster had been covered up, but some survivors continued to harbor guilt.

 

This mystery was light-hearted and fun to read.  The solution came with a twist, but was very satisfying.  This is a delightful little “cozy mystery” that takes place mostly at the Grand Raj Palace Hotel in Mumbai, India.  It’s the fourth mystery in the Baby Ganesh Agency Investigation series, although it’s the first one I read.  I will definitely go back and read this series from the beginning.

 

Read:  May 18, 2021

 

5 Stars

 

Books Set in North America: United States: Arizona

Credible Threat, by J.A. Jance (2020)  //  Ali Reynolds Series # 15

 

This is the first book I have read by J.A. Jance, but it is the 15^th book in her Ali Reynolds series.  The author spends some time providing the reader with some background from prior books in the series, but the novel can stand on its own.  Apparently in prior novels, Ali works with her husband B. Simpson in solving mysteries.  In this book, B. Simpson is abroad working on his own project, so Ali is left to work on her own to solve this mystery.

 

Rachel Higgins is a 70-year old woman whose marriage to a controlling husband has fallen apart.  When their only son, David, died of an overdose years earlier, her husband basically lost his will to go on.  He lost his job and spends his days making bird houses.  Rachel and her husband barely speak to each other.  The book begins when Rachel learns that David turned to drugs because he had been abused by a priest when in high school and he couldn’t confide in anyone.  

 

Rachel vows to take revenge upon the Church and her target is Francis Gillespie, the aged Archbishop in Phoenix, Arizona.  Little does she know that the Archbishop had taken a strong stand against the pedophilic priests in his diocese.  Rachel begins by sending the Archbishop threatening notes that she drops into the collection plates in a number of churches throughout the diocese.  The Archbishop went to the local police; however, he was told that the threats were not credible, hence, he turns to his friend Ali.

 

Rachel has gone to great lengths to create the “perfect” crime as she continues to plot her revenge on the Archbishop.  Can Ali stop Rachel before she kills?  Will Rachel’s husband come out of his shell and thwart Rachel’s plans?

 

Great literature this is not, however, it was a fun and quick read.  I will definitely go back and start reading this series from its first book.

 

Read:  May 7, 2021

 

4 Stars

 

Books Set in Asia: Israel; Bethlehem

The Collaborator of Bethlehem, by Matt Beynon Rees (2006)

 

This is a rather disturbing mystery novel, the first in the Omar Yussef series, that focuses on Omar Yussef, a schoolteacher in a United Nations school in Bethleham.  The novel is about the tensions between the Muslim Arabs and the Christians living in Bethleham.  Added to the mix are the Israelis who seek out terrorists and the so-called Martyrs Brigade that terrorizes everyone.

 

Omar has been teaching for many years and is toying with the idea of retirement.  Many of his former students are now successful citizens of the area and Omar has maintained bonds with them.  One of his students, George Saba now runs an antique shop.

 

When a member of the Martyrs Brigade was shot and killed, George, a Christian, was arrested and sentenced to death as being a collaborator of the Israelis to target terrorists.  Omar believes that George is innocent and takes a leave from his classroom to become an amateur sleuth to prove George is in the clear.

 

Omar uncovers evidence that he believes clears George, but no one is willing to consider.  The novel is disturbing.  The police detective tells George that his job is to keep his head down and consider only the state and its security, regardless of the innocence or guilt of a suspect.  The thrust of this mystery lies in the politics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

 

Read: February 12, 2021

 

3 Stars

 

 

 

Books Set in North America, United States, Virginia

Miracle Creek, by Angie Kim (2019)

 

This novel is part courtroom drama, part mystery.  Pak and Young Yoo and their daughter Mary, are South Korean immigrants.  They immigrated to the United States in hopes of providing their teenaged daughter a good education.  For visa reasons, Young Yoo and Mary arrived several years before Pak could join them.  Once the family is together, they find themselves in rural Virginia in a town called Miracle Creek.

 

Pak was able to get a license to run a private hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) center.  The therapy claimed to provide treatment for a variety of illnesses and conditions, including autism and infertility.  The HBOT chamber is a refurbished submarine that can accommodate several patients in one “dive.”

 

The novel opens with a fire at the facility, in which two of the people chamber were killed, and several others seriously wounded.  The mother of the 8-year-old autistic child who died in the fire is the prime suspect.  Usually, the mothers would enter the chamber with their children, but on this day, Elizabeth, opted not to participate.

 

Elizabeth’s demeanor in the courtroom certainly makes her look suspect, and as witnesses testify, her guilt seems clear.  But as the trial continues, the author peels back the stories and motives of the Yoos and the other families who were in the chamber on the day of the fire.  Each person has his/her own reasons for keeping secrets.

 

This was a quick read as a novel, but ultimately, I was left unsatisfied.  There were still too many issues that were raised in the book, that were left unanswered.  As Chekhov noted: If in Act One you have a pistol hanging on the wall, then it must fire in the last act.

 

Read: February 2, 2021

 

3 Stars