February 2011 Mystery Books & Reviews

Review: Town in a Lobster Stew - B.B. Haywood

Rating: 6 (Satisfactory)

For fans of: Sheila Connolly’s Orchard Mystery Series

Memorial Day is right around the corner and all of Cape Willington, Maine is buzzing about the upcoming Twenty-Ninth Annual Lobster Stew Cook-off. So when blueberry farmer and community columnist Candy Holliday is summoned to six-time-champion Wilma Mae Wendell’s house, she assumes she’s there to interview the woman for the paper regarding her position as honorary judge in this year’s competition. Not so, it turns out: Wilma’s secret recipe has been stolen from its hiding place, and she wants Candy’s help to try to bring the thief to justice. Candy agrees to try and help the elderly woman, but the mystery takes a turn for the complicated when she and her friend Maggie discover a dead body that's been wrapped in a tarp and ditched in Wilma’s basement. The corpse is none other than Wilma’s friend and next-door neighbor, James Sedley – the creator of the secret recipe Wilma used to win all of those competitions, and a seven-time Lobster-Stew-Cook-off-champion, himself. Because of her ties to the case, Candy's editor assigns her to the story – her first crack at a real feature. Are her sleuthing skills up to the task?

Being from Maine, I had high hopes for B. B. Haywood’s latest Candy Holliday Murder Mystery, Town in a Lobster Stew. I love my state with a fiery passion, and am always excited when authors choose to set works of fiction here. For the most part, Haywood does right by coastal Maine. Great food, gorgeous views, rich history, interesting architecture, friendly people – this book has it all. And therein lies the problem: in Haywood’s eagerness to do justice to Maine and to portray the fictional town of Cape Willington in its full glory, the author goes a little overboard with the details and ends up doing a serious injustice to the book's plot.

Town in a Lobster Stew starts strong, with a gracefully written prologue that’s both gripping and tragic. Unfortunately, after that, things go off the rails for the next 150 pages or so. What should be a relatively short and simple setup for Haywood’s central mystery is instead a string of bloated and boring scenes that exist almost strictly for the purpose of world-building. They do little to further the plot (and in fact, do rather a lot to detract from it), and the sheer volume of unnecessary facts, details, background, exposition, and characters pull the reader’s focus away from the mystery that Haywood is trying to develop. The pacing for this part of the book is positively glacial, and the story is almost completely lacking in urgency and narrative drive.

That's not to say the book's a total wash; in fact, the second half makes for rather compelling reading, chock full of dead bodies, clandestine meetings, and cryptic clues. The ending is a tad convoluted for my taste, but it's certainly original and does some nice work to set things into motion for Candy's next adventure. And the characters, while legion, are quirky and interesting and add some nice texture to the tale.

In sum, if Haywood had just painted in broader strokes and left a little more to the reader’s imagination, Town in a Lobster Stew would likely be a darn good book; there's little wrong here that some judicious editing couldn't cure. As it stands, however, fans looking for a quick, fun read with lots of action and drama would do better to look elsewhere.

Reviewed by: Kat

ISBN-10:0425240010
ISBN-13:978-0425240014
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: Feb 1
Pages: 384
Retail Price: $7.99

Town in a Lobster Stew
B.B. Haywood

Things start to boil over at the annual Lobster Stew Cook-Off when an award-winning recipe is stolen and a seven-time contest champion mysteriously disappears—leaving Candy no choice but to find out who in Cape Willington, Maine, would get steamed enough to break the law.

Review: Wild Penance - Sandi Ault

Rating: 9 Top Pick!

Wild Penance is set against the backdrop of the native lands of New Mexico and features Bureau of Land Management Agent Jamaica Wild. Since this is a prequel to the previous three books in the WILD series, it’s the perfect introduction for readers new to the series with interesting insight into Jamaica’s backstory for returning readers. At the center of Wild Penance is a story about an ancient religious group called Los Penitentes. Some of the events in the book are based on factual accounts of the real Los Penitentes sect and their mysterious rituals. However, the author says she has used her imagination to fill in details that are unknown or that add to the novel.

It’s evident from the very first chapter that Wild Penance is more intense than most cozy mysteries. Jamaica Wild goes for a run before work and witnesses a man tied to a cross being pushed from the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge down into the ravine below.

The story then flashes back several months to Jamaica’s meeting with a priest, Father Ignacio Medina, to learn more about the secretive Los Penitentes. Some of the group’s rituals include whipping themselves for punishment and even ritual crucifixion. This sounds unbelievable, but a friend of Jamaica later explains, “They thought the way to salvation was to experience Christ’s agony. They believed they were paying for their own sins and those of others with their anguish.” When Jamaica speaks to Father Medina, he expresses concerns that religious artifacts belonging to Los Penitentes are being stolen. He also gives Jamaica some information about the group, but she leaves the meeting with more questions than answers.

The narrative then returns to the present and the murder victim in the ravine. In addition to the murder investigation, there has been evidence of trespassers on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) property. Jamaica is asked to team up with forest service ranger Kerry Reed to find out who is trespassing and why. Jamaica is a loner, but there is instant camaraderie, respect, and attraction between her and Kerry when they meet. In one scene they throw food at each other, and never has a food-fight been so romantic!

There are several different sub-plots in the book including the murder, a wife-beating criminal that is a suspect in the trespassing case, the stolen artifacts, someone who is following Jamaica, as well as Jamaica’s quest to learn the Pueblo ways and learn more about the Los Penitentes. However, the book never seems scattered and everything ties together into a cohesive and dramatic story.

While this is a murder mystery, it is also a beautiful novel about the southwest and the customs of the pueblo people. One of Jamaica’s friends is Anna Santana who has declared herself to be Jamaica’s medicine teacher. As Jamaica learns the ways of the Pueblo from “Momma Anna”, the reader is also introduced to the customs of the Pueblo culture. While it takes Jamaica a while to understand Anna’s advice, it’s Anna who helps Jamaica make peace with something in her past that has always haunted her.

It is the book’s wonderful setting and the complex character of Jamaica that make Wild Penance and the other books in this series unique. Jamaica loves nature and animals. We hear about extreme action she has taken to protect wildlife, and there is a powerful scene that shows us her love for her horse. Jamaica lives in a remote cabin with electricity, but no running water, no television, and no phone service of any kind. She has people in her life that are important to her like Anna and also her boss Ray, but Jamaica finds it hard to let down her guard and trust others. Jamaica’s life is in danger at one point in the story, but she has nobody she feels close enough to that she can move in with even temporarily. However, with the discovery she makes with Anna’s help and her growing friendship with Kerry, the book’s ending is full of hope for the future.

The glimpse into Jamaica’s life as a Resource Protection Agent will interest those who enjoy author Nevada Barr or Jessica Speart, while the stories of the Pueblo culture will appeal to readers of Tony Hillerman or Margaret Coel.

Reviewed by: Christine K.

ISBN-10:0425238849
ISBN-13:978-0425238844
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Release Date: Feb 1
Pages: 352
Retail Price: $14.00

Wild Penance
Sandi Ault

Bureau of Land Management agent Jamaica Wild is horrified to see a man, nailed to a cross, plummeting down into the Rio Grande Gorge to his death. Ever since she learned about Los Penitentes, a secret, ancient religious group that reenacts Jesus' crucifixion and practices excessive penance, Jamaica's been putting together a book of her research. But when an attempt is made on her life, her mission could also send her over the edge.

www.SandiAult.com

Rating: 6 (Satisfactory)

Rating: 9 (Excellent)

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