The Department of Sensitive Crimes

As the first book in a new series by Alexander McCall Smith, this Detective Varg novel is described as being written as 'Scandi blanc' as opposed to popular Scandinavian crime fiction usually referred to as 'Scandi noir'.

Set in Malmo, Sweden, Ulf Varg (Wolf Wolf) is in charge of the Department of Sensitive Crimes. Ulf and his team, Anna, Carl and Erik, are presented with unusual crimes to investigate - who stabbed a stall holder in the back of the knee, the disappearance of a young man who may, or may not, have gone to the North Pole, and the reasons for the lack of patrons at a once popular spa. The team with the assistance of a local policeman, Blomquist, endeavour to investigate such mysteries discovering conflict between a group of young people, imaginary friends and the possibility of werewolves in a small town.

This series of investigations occurs amidst a series of philosophical discussions on social issues and life in general in our politically correct world. We learn about the lives, concerns and relationships of the main characters including the problems with Ulf's dog, Martin, who is not only deaf but appears to be depressed. The book contains much quiet humour which made me laugh on several occasions. I look forward to meeting these characters again in the next installment of the Detective Varg series.

Review in The Scotsman 7 March 2019
Reviews in Goodreads

Woman in the green dress

This book by Tea Cooper is set in Sydney and the Hawkesby region of New South Wales in two time periods - 1853 and 1919. It was primarily because of the Hawkesbury setting that I decided to read the book.

In 1853 Della Atterton lives on the family property at Mogo Creek, a tributary of the Hawkesbury River. Della's parents had recently died and her aunt sent Della from Sydney to work on the farm in order to use her skills as a taxidermist, preparing exhibits for sale in the family store in Sydney. Della made friends with the local Aboriginal people and became concerned with the way they are treated, especially by two men who are in the employ of her Aunt Cordelia. Della's life changes when she meets Captain Stefan von Richter, from Austria, who assists her to return to Sydney where she discovers that Aunt Cordelia has not only changed the name of the shop, owned by Della. but has also introduced another range of products to be sold.

In 1919 Fleur Richards arrives in Sydney to discover information about the family of Hugh, her husband who died a few days before the end of the war, plus information about the property in Australia that she has been told that she now owns. Initially she travels to the Hawkesbury where she meets an elderly man at the property who tells her that she must locate the family heirloom and return it to him. Back in Sydney, with the assistance of Kip, a returned soldier, Fleur investigates an old boarded-up building which she is told that she now owns - the former Curio Shop of Wonders.

Fleur and Kip gradually uncover the story of the shop of curios, information about Hugh's family and learn what Aunt Cordelia, who always wore a green dress, was really doing in the shop.

One of the threads throughout the story is the attitude of some of the locals in the 1850s to the remaining Aboriginal people living in the area around the Hawkesbury, and no doubt other regions of New South Wales. Part of the story also touches on the post war effects of World War I on communities, especially on returned servicemen trying to readjust into civilian life after the war. Then there is the story of the opal ...

The Woman in the green dress is a work of historical fiction providing glimpses into our past and attitudes.

The Relentless Tide

Having read all the books in the DCI Daley series plus collections of short stories by Denzil Meyrick last year, I was pleased when the local library notified me that The Relentless Tide, volume six in the series, was available for loan.

The story is set in Kinloch and in Glasgow. When archaeologists undertake an archaeological dig to discover the location of a settlement of Somerled, Lord of the Isles, a twelfth century warlord possibly of Viking origin, they discover the graves of three women. It is obvious that these are recent burials and the police quickly realise that these women were victims of the 'Midweek Murderer', active in 1994.

Early in his career DCI Jim Daley had investigated the murders of eight women after five bodies had been discovered in Glasgow. Daley's friend and retired former boss, Ian Burns, believed that another two other murders had also been committed by the same murderer some years earlier. Then Ian Burns was murdered.

The story is revealed with descriptions of events in 1994 interwoven with investigations being undertaken more than twenty years later. DCI Daley and Sergeant Brian Scott are determined to discover not only the identity of the 'Midweek Murderer' but also the murderer of Ian Burns. Meanwhile a district nurse has disappeared, a local man is murdered and a valuable treasure hoard has been discovered. In the background is the realisation of police cover-up and corruption over many years that is difficult to prove.

The descriptions of Kinloch and other locations is a feature in this series of books along with a collection of memorial characters. Although there are descriptions of violent crimes Denzil Meyrick includes humour in his stories. The Relentless Tide is definitely a page turner that I thoroughly enjoyed.  I definitely look forward to the next installment in this tartan noir series of books.

The lost girls of Paris

On holidays in London in 2014 we regularly passed a small memorial to the men and women who had served in the Special Operations Executive (SOE) during the Second World War. When we returned home I wrote a post about the SOE in my Military History blog. A special group of men and women were trained to be smuggled into France to work with the partisans and relay information back to England. A large number did not return home.

Pam Jenoff has written a novel based on the experiences of a small group of women working north of Paris in 1944. The story is told from the viewpoint of three women - Marie who is one of the recruits to the S O E, Eleanor who manages the SOE women's section and Grace who, in 1946, discovers photos of a number of women who served in the SOE and endeavours to discover their story. Each of these women has encountered a tragedy in her life and is attempting to make a new, independent start. This fictional account of challenges, friendship, bravery and betrayal provides an understanding of another aspect of the Second World War that has largely been forgotten.

In notes at the end of the book the author gives the titles of two books on the role of women in the SOE:
A life in secrets: Vera Atkins and the missing agents of World War Two by Sarah Helm (2006)
The true story of the greatest female secret agent of World War Two by William Stevenson (2007).

There is also a series of discussion points for book club discussion at the end of the book.

The Ruin

Derlva McTiernan was born in Ireland but moved to Australia in 2011. The Ruin is her first novel with a second book in the Cormac Reilly series (The Scholar) published last month.

Detective Cormac Reilly had recently transferred to  the Mill Street Garda Station in Galway from Dublin where he had not received an enthusiastic welcome from his new colleagues.

Assigned a number of cold cases to investigate he becomes involved in reinvestigating one of the first cases he had encountered as a young garda. Twenty years previously he had been called to an isolated house where he discovered two traumatised children. In another room he discovered their mother who had been dead for some time. The young boy was obviously unwell and when he was taken to hospital staff were horrified by the bruising on his body plus fractures that were partially healed. It appeared that the mother, an alcoholic, had committed suicide so the five year old was fostered to a local family who later adopted him. His fifteen year old sister disappeared.

Reilly was told to look at the case again when a young man, related to the earlier case, was found dead in the river. The police announced that the death was suicide. Cormac Reilly had been instructed to concentrate only on the cold case but, as he endeavoured to find out what really happened to the family twenty years previously, he became concerned that the two cases are connected, especially when the young man's sister, Maude, and his partner, Aisling, attempt to convince the police to treat the death as murder.

Apart from the prologue, the story is revealed from the viewpoint of Cormac, Asling and Maude over a month in 2013. As the investigation continues, it becomes obvious that a police cover up is hindering the discovery of what really happened. Themes in this police procedural include child and family abuse plus police corruption. The book is well written with a character driven plot and I look forward to reading the next installment.

Hope Farm

Peggy Frew's second novel, Hope Farm, recounts the life of thirteen year old Silver and her mother, Ishtar, as they move into a hippie community, Hope Farm. The year is 1985 and for all of Silver's life she has lived in a succession of ashrams or communes, each time hoping for a better life. Hope Farm promises new opportunities but the actuality is that it is a run down farm populated by an assortment of adults and their problems.

Although Silver does make some friends in this new environment she struggles living in this largely adult world and learns the need to fend for herself. The story is told from Silver's viewpoint interspersed with pages written by Ishtar recounting events of the thirteen years to this time.

Initially I found it difficult to become involved with this web of relationships, or non-relationships, but eventually I came to a stage where I wanted to discover what happened next.

Hope Farm - The Stella Prize (nomination 2016)

The Last Wave

Ten years ago I wrote a post in this blog about water, especially the sea, being an important setting in many Australian novels. In this novel by Gillian Best the relationship between the sea and Martha is a major theme.

This is a book about relationships covering four generations. The major character is Martha Roberts who lives by the sea in Dover with her husband John. Martha loves swimming in the sea and swimming the English Channel is a major goal from a young age. It is only in the sea that Martha feels really complete.

Martha and John have two children, Harriet and Iain, and one grand-daughter, Myrtle. However, for various reasons, the relationships with their children are strained and it is only when Martha and John face health issues that attempts are made to improve family relationships.

Topics such as cancer, dementia and same sex marriage are covered in this book presenting challenges to relationships which need to be eventually faced. The time span of the book covers from the late 1940s to the present day and each chapter is narrated by different characters revealing different time frames of the narrative. However it is Martha's love of and desire to be in the sea that is the encompassing theme of this readable and thought provoking novel.