Edgar Nominees – 2015

January is time for the Edgar Award nominations. Of course, true to form, I’ve read relatively few, but here are my thoughts on the few I did read.

Best Novel:

Dark Road to Mercy by Wiley Cash – Unlike his previous book, The Land More Kind than Home, I didn’t love Dark Road to Mercy. I’d be interested in your views.

 

 

 

Cop Town by Karin Slaughter – I really liked Cop Town I thought it was well written and a great story. Not only does it have a murder, but it deals with sexual inequality, bigotry and religious  bias.

 

 

 

I must admit though, that there are books published in 2014 by Bruce DeSilva (Providence Rag), John Harvey (Darkness, Darkness), Archer Mayer (Proof Positive), for example, that should have been on the list.

 

Best First Novel:

Invisible City by Julia Dahl – This is the only one I read from the list and I loved it. The story was unique. The characters were good. I love mysteries set in New York. Great all around. By all means it is worthy.

 

 

Best Young Adult Mystery:

Fake ID by Lamar Giles – As with Invisible City, Fake ID was the only Young Adult Mystery I read that was nominated. Again it is totally worthy.

 

 

 

So along with a 50 best all time mystery list, I now have a whole new list to work through. I’m betting you do as well.

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Darkness, Darkness by John Harvey

Well, it seems like I’ve just become a fan of British mysteries. Not the Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes variety. I like some of the modern mystery writers like Peter Robinson and now John Harvey. Unfortunately, I’ve started at the end because Darkness, Darkness is the last book in the Charlie Resnick series.

In 2014, Jenny Hardwick’s body has been found under a porch foundation. She had disappeared in November 1984, in the midst of the Coal Miners’ Strike in Great Britain. While she was vocally pro-strike, her husband Barry, a miner, was anti to the point of working during the strike…a scab. While back then the reason for Jenny’s disappearance was uncertain, it was assumed she ran off with a man to start a new life, leaving Barry and her three children behind. The investigation at the time led to no conclusions.

With the reappearance of Jenny’s body, the case needs to be reopened. Resnick, who was redundant, but came back to the police on a part time basis, is asked to help Catherine Njoroge, a young, very Black detective with the investigation (several strikes against her). Don’t make anything big out of it. No one wants to bring up police issues from the strike.

Knowing very little about the Coal Miners’ Strike did not, in any way, detract from this book. But Harvey does supply a bibliography for those interested in learning more about it. Not knowing the back story also did not detract from it. Darkness, Darkness flips back and forth between Jenny’s life leading up to her disappearance and the investigation of her murder.  It also flips between Resnick’s current and immediate past lives, the flipping being somewhat abrupt but not confusingly so.

In some ways, Resnick reminds me of Peter Robinson’s Inspector Alan Banks, possibly because they both have lives outside of the police force, they both like music, they both plod along until they get to the answer. In addition, many of Robinson’s stories are cold cases, which apparently I like….a lot!!!! (Yes, I did watch Cold Case when it was on TV.)

Begun in 1988, the Resnick series has 12 novels, 16 short stories and two television adaptations (you bet I’m going to try and find the TV adaptations). While I’m not going to go back to the beginning (you’d understand why if you saw my library reserve list), I will keep an eye out for more John Harvey mysteries. I’m suggesting you do the same.

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