Leon, Donna: Death in a Strange Country

Yet another Commissario Brunetti investigation, this time taking him outside Venice to Vicenza and
the US base there.   A soldier visiting Venice is found murdered, apparently the result of a mugging;
a rich businessman disturbs burglars who escape the jewellery and three very expensive paintings.
The two events seem unconnected until the reason for the soldier's death and that of his lover, who
was an officer at the same base, is uncovered.   This involves the businessman through his connections.   By the end of the book, some of the bad guys are punished but most are not.   There
is somewhat more background of the political life of Italy, the continuing influence of the old aristocracy, such as Brunetti's father-in-law, and the Mafia.   The way in which Brunetti's home
life is woven into the novel is, as always, well done and numerous small aside about life in Venice
evoke a sense of that city without getting overly flowery.    Consistently good.

Carroll, Jonathan: Sleeping in Flame

Jonathan Carroll manages skilfully to combine the prosaic here and now with what can only be

called the supernatural.   On one level, the plot is straightforward - man meets woman, is instantly

smitten and falls in love which she reciprocates; after various adventures, they settle down together.

This completely ignores the supernatural elements which provide a multiple-layered environment

where past and present, reality and unreality all meet.   This book is now 26 years old and I recall

reading Carroll for the first time when the cover drawing of a Mont Blanc pen caught my eye at

least that long ago.   Since then I have read other of his books and have at least two unread ones -

a rare vintage that needs to be savoured sparingly.

Hitchman, Beatrice: Petite Mort

Set mainly in the years immediately before World War One, this is about the Parisian film industry of
the time and involvement of a young country girl in it when she is taken on as a seamstress and becomes the mistress of a famous director though her desire is to emulate the famous actress of the day, Terpsichore.   Told effectively in flashback, what happens is told to a journalist trying to find
out the trust behind the loss of the film 'Petite Mort' destroyed before ever being shown.   She has
traced the heroine of the film, the young country girl, who has agreed to tell her the story after many
decades of silence.   What follows is a description of film-making at that time, a love affair and its
convoluted development and a mystery which you will discover if you read the book for yourself.
Although the book is nicely written, I did find the characters a tad undeveloped with some of their
actions seeming to happen only for keeping things moving.

Gaiman, Neil: Neverwhere

I remember the TV serial and have the DVD (must play this some time) but the book is much better.

Set in a London which exists under its streets, this is a highly imaginative adventure story whose hero

finds himself in this alternative world because of a small act of kindness.   The use of existing (or

rather, above ground names) is skilfully used - as well as the obvious possible such as 'Knights' Bridge' and 'Earl's Court', there is the Angel of Islington and clever use of disused Underground

Stations like Down Street and the British Museum.   Obviously, the reader needs to suspend disbelief to enjoy the story but it is an exciting adventure tale in its own right with the locational disruptions of

one's knowledge addigint to the excitement.   Very good indeed.

Nelle Neuhaus: Snow White Must Die

Tobias Sartorius is released from prison after his conviction for the murder of two 17 year old girls

whose bodies have never been found.   Convicted on circumstantial evidence of killing them, he returns home to a hostile environment even though he has been befriended by the local major

landowner.   Two detectives from Frankfurt, the nearest large city, have the task of investigating

events which then become more serious with assaults and the disappearance of another young

woman, a recent newcomer to the village.   She has befriended Tobias and also been curious about

the past events.   The cover up which led to Tobias' conviction starts to unravel though the final

explanation is somewhat complex.   Parallel to this are the lives of the two detectives, the senior

female trying to save the home she has built from being destroyed and the aristocratic male with

a celebrated explorer wife finding his marriage disintegrating.   Again, a well-written novel which

deserves its best-seller status.

Nesser, Haken: Borkmann's Point

It has been some time since I read this addition to the Scandinavian crime novels, this one set in
Sweden with an Inspector Van Veeteren as the protagonist.   Less gloomy than the Wallander of
Henning Mankell's works, he is summoned from holiday to assist in a pair of brutal murders in
a nearby town.   The plot is acceptable and the characters well drawn with few cardboard ones
in view.   Borkmann's point is not a geographical feature but an aphorism that in every investigation there  comes a point beyond which more information is unnecessary.   At this point, enough is known to solve the crime by thinking.   An enjoyable novel.