The great Vermont crime novel
344118
As always, Archer Mayer has written an excellent police procedural and an honest story about the people we've grown to see as friends.  I would definitely recommend it as a great read.
3103499
If you want Boston nitty-gritty, this crime novel is your ticket. Bartender Dan Marlowe (who shares a name with the paperback suspense novelist who produced The Name of the Game is Death), gets inadvertantly embroiled in a battle among low-lives and mobsters desperate to recover a load of cocaine that has gone missing. Marlowe can be a tough guy, but he also yearns for the kids from which he has been separated by the cocaine habit that took away his good sense for a while. His battle to regain his life and to do right by his friends and family--all the while trying to fend off a crooked DEA agent and various nasty criminals--make this novel an absorbing read. Fans of Dennis Lehane and George V. Higgins will revel in the settings and atmosphere,and anyone who loves a hard-charging plot will love the story.
1590034
I loved The Doom Murders and read it in one sitting. To be a really great detective novel the reader must identify and like the lead character. Jim Sheehan is a warm and conflicted man. He is having a crisis of faith while investigating a string of murders with strong links to the modern day Catholic Church.

The novel has a strong plot and well realised charcters and while it doesn't shy away from tackling issues many modern Catholics have, it is at its heart, a nail biting detective novel.

I look forward to learning more about Jim Sheehan.
4076263
I had a great time with this book.  Nino Lama brings upstate New York vividly to life and Vince is just the kind of character you want to spend time with -- tough, vulnerable, and smart.  Filled with drugs, sex, violence, boats, and broads, Binghampton Blues is a blast.
1792389
A priest, a suspicious suicide and a little Irish village... What is there to not love?

With a great plot and really well-developed characters, this book is a really enthralling read. With multiples twist, it will keep you entertained until the very end.

Father Reagan is a great character, a priest who truly cares about his people, and who loves both, mysteries and the television detective Bourbon. Smart and compassionate he is decided to uncover whichever evil is stalking his little town.

A great book.
530982
I was disappointed with Mayor's last few books, so it is good to see him back in form in "The Price of Malice." What pleases me is that he goes back to telling the story strictly from the point of view of the VBI (Vermont Bureau of Investigation) folk--Joe and his team--rather than switching to the point of view of the bad guys every now and then.  While I am not in favor of formulaic writing, Mayor had a good thing going without putting us in the criminals' heads, a choice that I felt weakened his overall effort.

The plots this time around are engaging and not forced as they occasionally seem with Mayor.  The murder plotline is  puzzling and the subplot of Lyn getting into difficulties and needing Joe's help adds some tension to the book.  The resolutions have some reasonable action scenes.  I didn't like it that the denouement of the murder case occurs in a conversation between Joe and Lyn, however.  That seems a weak device for wrapping up the details that were unrelated to Lyn.

One of the things I enjoyed about this book was seeing Joe get a little stressed about juggling his professional duties and personal interests.  This time around not too much time is spent on Joe's romance, which I appreciated, since sometimes Mayor doesn't get the romantic scenes quite right in my opinion.  I am still not missing Gail in the least. Another nice surprise is seeing Sammie interact in a new way. Vermont remains a great backdrop for the story, as always.

Overall, I looked forward to picking up this book again each time I had to put it down for real life, which is a measure of how good a book is in my mind.

For more mystery series that may entertain you, check out my website describing and reviewing many series (see my Amazon profile for the URL).
908549
To simply call Rob Reuland's HOLLOWPOINT a crime novel would be unfair.  Yes, there is a crime, but this outstanding first novel is more of a character driven morality play.
Andrew Giobberti is a young, Brooklyn ADA, who works one of the toughest neighborhoods in the borough, East New York.  Mired in regret and self-pity after his young daughter's death and abandoned by his wife, Gio's life is a wasteland of drinking and meaningless sex, until he is assigned a case involving the death of a fourteen year old girl.
Both sarcastic wit and blunt reality drive HOLLOWPOINT in an examination of the fine lines which blur and separate the innocent from the guilty, and where even the morality of those who uphold the law is in question.
HOLLOWPOINT is one of the finest novels I've read this year, and the very talented Rob Reuland is definitely worth watching.
4887820
This is easily the best and most enjoyable novel I've read in a long time. The author writes critically acclaimed serious novels, as well as crime fiction, and he is a wonderful prose stylist. He has the ability to describe minor characters in a sentence or two, with such closely observed detail, that they absolutely come alive on the page  He is a master of creating three-dimensional main characters and describing their lives and hopes and fears in a way that makes the reader feel involved and interested and wanting to learn more about them.

The crime lurks in the background of his characters' lives, but we are spared the details of the police investigation,the clues, multiple interviews of suspects, the dead ends, which can make crime fiction tedious at times and turn plot into a kind of prose jigsaw puzzle.

After A Death in Summer it may be some time before I can adjust and go back to the  typical "whodunit" variety of crime fiction.
19502
Mike Lawson has created one of the most likeable characters in fiction in Joe DeMarco. Each book published seems like an old friend's letter even though it is well conceived mystery novel. Lawson is of great, very subtle wit, but more importantly he weaves in an extraordinary chronicling of the times that is on target to major issues coming on in society. I have lived in the development industry and he in House Revenge hits on the integrity questioning that is on so many minds today. His research is perceptive delving.
3418987
I'm not helpful as a critic because i just flat-out like the way he writes, love Joe Gunther, enjoy the other characters, feel at home in the setting, and savor the police work.  Nice gritty feel and a clear but disturbing look at rural crime and poverty.  To give my review context, I'm  a big fan of Sandford, Stejles, Mankell, T. Jefferson Parker,  Michael Connolly, Lawrence Block,Martin Cruz Smith, Johnny Shaw, and Olen Steinhauer among others.  If you enjoy any of these authors, you'll probably like Archer Mayor's books.  They're very compelling.  He knows crime and Vermont.
3047838
The Henry Wood mysteries are wonderful books set in a 1955 New York  that reminds you of the William B Williams show on WNEW, eating with the mob at Luna (in Little Italy) and the excitement available in a  period before 4 people routinely died every night in the city. Henry is a great character, with a lot of integrity.
I just wish he'd propose to his girlfriend, Luna

By Rich Whitney Turner, author of "Tommy Babcock"
2266655
As someone who is law Enforcement I read many crime novels.  This one is a real page turner, Martin"s depiction of the bronx crime scene in the 90's is both educating and accurate.  His extensive experience in the NYPD shows in his writing, this book has a great plot, superb action and the main character Det Mcguire is both relatable and likable.  Written by someone who has real life investigative experience.  This book will not disappoint.
2317473
This was one of the best mystery, crime solving styled novels that I have read in a long time. Michael I. Benjamin provides a great scenario for what seemed like an ordinary death, but new evidence arises, causing Jeannie to become involved in the case and having to try to promptly close the case. The varying information seems to lead to new suspects at every turn, something I appreciated because it gave more possibilities to who could have truly committed the crime, allowing me to think more critically and try to draw connections to who truly committed murder. This is a very well written book and doesnt have any nonessential fluff or characters that are of no importance. Benjamin writes everything into the story with a purpose, whether it is meant to act as a red herring or truly be a clue, all of the information becomes critical when finally trying to determine who was the true culprit in the murder.
624177
"Sunday the Rabbi Stayed Home," by Harry Kemelman, is a fascinating crime story featuring a ... rabbi as its hero. David Small is the rabbi of the synagogue in the "Yankee town" of Barnard's Crossing. As the book opens the rabbi is caught up in a political power struggle within his own congregation. But the situation gets even stickier when a crime is committed and the rabbi is drawn into the investigation. Illegal [substance] trade and racial prejudice complicate the matter.
This is a really fun read. Kemelman has a very engaging writing style, and the smart, stubborn Rabbi Small is a marvelous character. There is occasional dated language ...but overall the book really holds up.
The story offers a really intriguing look at a Jewish community and specifically at life within the synagogue. A number of interesting issues are raised--the role of the synagogue in society, the role of the rabbi, etc. A good book not only for lovers of crime fiction but also for those interested in Jewish-American studies.
3382412
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I liked the characters who are very believable, especially the main character. I also found the setting interesting (snow, cold, ice) and the dialogs captivating. It is always a treat to have human stories on top of a crime novel. I would like to read the next book by this talented author.
4524991
I always want to see if a crime writer can elevate his/her work into the kind of character development that goes back to the Daddy-of-Them-All, Charles Dickens. Mr. Greaves succeeds in this excellent book, thanks to his understanding of how and why some adolescents take the turn that leads to crime. The characterization of Cokey Flo makes this book a big cut above ordinary crime novels. Lots of crooks are smart, but Cokey Flo is also courageous and brassy in a way that Bert Brecht would appreciate. Greaves doesn't romanticize her, but he allows you to root for her as she faces--and faces down--the most frightening mobster in the annals of real American criminality.

Five Stars!
2239386
I love this series of books.  As I live near Brattleboro, VT, it is like I am involved in the story.  I can't wait to read all of the books by Mr. Gunther.  I highly recommend them for anyone who likes mysteries.  None of them are clear cut