“Best of The Strand Magazine,” edited by Andrew F. Gulli and Lamia J. Gulli (Blackstone)
What a treat this book is: the best of Strand Magazine’s mysteries published over the past 25 years by the genre’s best writers. Among them: Michael Connelly, Walter Mosley, Tennessee Williams, Alexander McCall Smith, Shirley Jackson, James Lee Burke, P.G. Wodehouse and many others.
It’s hard to pick a favorite, but mine is Burke’s “Deportees,” set at the beginning of World War II, but with relevance to today. In it, an old Texas Ranger shields a group of Mexican illegals on a Texas ranch, while a group of bullies wants to cart them back across the border. Told by the ranger’s grandson, the story is filled with pathos, nostalgia and wisdom.
“Robert B. Parker’s Showdown,” by Mike Lupica (Putnam)
Spenser gets called in when Daniel Lopez, a young man headed for Harvard, wants to meet Vic Hale, the man he claims is his father. The problem: The kid is Hispanic and Hale is a virulent and hugely famous white supremacist podcaster, who wants nothing to do with any offspring. He’s about to sign a contract that would make him even richer, and a nonwhite son showing up could nix the deal. Would-be backers aren’t crazy about the kid surfacing, either. In fact, somebody is so anxious to have Daniel go away that they try to gun down Spenser.
The standard cast of characters is here: Spenser’s girlfriend Susan, sidekick Hawk and his new girlfriend, Belsen and Quirk and so on. One Spenser mystery is pretty much like another. Still, “Showdown” is fun to read, if for no other reason than the witty dialogue and the descriptions of food.
“The Monsters We Make,” by Rachel Corbett (W.W. Norton & Co.)
Who reads about a vicious murderer or serial killer without thinking, ‘Why did he do it?’ Psychiatrists and psychologists and those tasked with solving crime wonder the same thing. That’s why, going back to 1829, when the London police force was organized, they’ve studied the reasons for crime and how to stop it. It’s called criminal profiling, and today it is part of pop culture.
There is a real reason to identify people who commit and will commit crimes, of course. Still, recent history shows that some attempts were counterproductive. In this intriguing study of criminal profiling, “The Monsters We Make,” Rachel Corbett (whose mother’s boyfriend was a murderer) tells of a Harvard profiler’s study of college students that subjected them to years of verbal abuse. One of those students, known only as “Lawful,” was Ted Kaczynski, who later became the Unabomber.
“A Tiny Piece of Blue,” by Charlotte Whitney (She Writes Press)
When the family farm burns down, Silstice Trayson’s brothers and sisters are taken in by relatives and friends, but 13-year-old Silly, as she’s known, is left adrift. Her 4H leader lets her stay for a time, but the woman’s husband complains of the expense. He insists Silly pay room and board, but with the Great Depression on, where can Silly get the money? She fears being snatched by men in the area who are sex trafficking children. When her two brothers disappear, Silly knows she has to rescue them.
Silly is a charmer, and while not really pegged as a mystery, “A Tiny Piece of Blue” has enough evil to make you want to protect this young heroine.
“Evil Bones,” by Kathy Reichs (Scribner)
When small animals, mutilated and nailed to trees, began showing up, Temperance Brennan is called in to investigate, in Reichs’ 24th novel about the forensic anthropologist. The dead animals, covered with glitter, feathers sticking out of their ears, are especially disturbing, because Tempe is worried the psycho posting the animals will start to choose bigger and bigger trophies — perhaps even humans.
Sure enough, after a time, the mutilator begins digging up corpses and displaying them in his disgusting manner. Is murder far behind?
With the doltish detective “Skinny” Slidell at her side, Tempe attempts to find the would-be killer, only to realize that she, her daughter and niece might be the nutjob’s ultimate targets. Written in Reichs’ breezy style, “Evil Bones” has some improbable scenes, but after two dozen Tempe books, the author knows what appeals to her readers.