Jane and the Waterloo Map
By Stephanie Barron
Soho. $25.95
The 13th title in this long running, popular series featuring British author Jane Austen as an amateur sleuth, “Jane and the Waterloo Map” unfolds in 1815 when Jane is visiting her brother in London.
Invited to tour Carlton House and the Prince Regent’s library, Jane stumbles upon a cavalry hero’s final moments as he dies on the floor of the room. Colonel MacFarland’s enigmatic, final dying words, “Waterloo map”, mean little to Jane but she’s determined to discover what the famous battle has to do with the unfortunate man’s death.
In this latest adventure Jane will also be reunited with artist Raphael West who will assist in the investigation and actually find his own life in jeopardy as the pair find their actions have placed them on a collision path with a very formidable adversary who is seeking an incalculable treasure.
This Regency era mystery with its thoroughly likeable central characters is not only filled with authentic period detail but the author also does an admirable job of working many facts gleaned from Jane Austen’s actual life. One wouldn’t necessarily think that this famous British author could anchor a successful suspense series but Stephanie Barron is skillful enough to make this happen in a very entertaining manner.
The Swede
By Robert Karjel
Harper. $26.99
When Swedish security officer Ernst Grip is sent on a special mission to a United States military base in the Indian Ocean, he is supposedly there to determine if a terrorist held by the Americans is a Swedish citizen.
Working with FBI agent Shauna Friedman, Grip soon becomes embroiled in the investigation of an international plot that involves a ruthless arms dealer, a Czech contract killer, a mysterious nurse from Kansas, a rather naïve Pakistani and, yes, a recalcitrant Swede.
In a harrowing action adventure filled with deception and betrayal, the two key protagonists, Grip and Friedman, harbor their own secrets. Neither of these characters is whom they appear to be, which makes for an exciting if not sometimes exasperating read.
The Girls She Left Behind: A Lizzie Snow Novel
By Sarah Graves
Bantam. $ 26
Set against the background of a raging forest fire in Maine, this thriller focuses on a female deputy’s search for a missing teen she fears has been snatched by an escaped convicted kidnapper who has fled from a prison clinic.
Lizzie Snow, a former Boston homicide cop turned sheriff’s deputy, is determined to locate Tara Wylie whom she is convinced has fallen into the clutches of the wily fugitive. Although the missing girl’s mother is frustrating the investigation with lies and misinformation, a series of clues including a bloodstained motel room and makeshift coffin found in a shallow grave take Snow and her law enforcement colleagues closer to the fire and their goal of locating the teen who is in jeopardy.
Complicating the situation and making for an even more riveting read is the fact that someone else is also engaged in finding Lizzie, but this individual isn’t necessarily intent on saving her or seeing justice served.
This inflammatory scenario operates on a number of surprising levels and takes this fledging series to a new high as Lizzie Snow finds herself challenged in ways she never imagined when she moved from Boston to the North Woods.
One Man’s Flag
By David Downing
Soho. $27.95
The follow up to David Downing’s acclaimed, “Jack of Spies,” this World War One thriller finds Britain assailed on a number of fronts. Not only is the war in Europe an international bloodbath costing thousands of lives but revolutionary activities in India and Ireland are a source of concern as well.
Agent Jack McColl, currently assigned to India, must find and stop a shipment of German arms meant to bolster the plans of native revolutionaries set on overthrowing British rule.
Meanwhile, Caitlyn Hanley, McColl’s former girlfriend and an American journalist, grimly awaits the execution of her brother in Ireland for his involvement in a plot to overthrow the British. Even harder to take is the fact that her one-lime lover, McColl, was responsible for her brother’s betrayal.
As this latest installment of the series unfolds, McColl and Hanley will be reunited in Ireland but the terms of their relationship will be much different.
Betrayal will again undermine their feelings for one another but this time one of them may not walk clear of their Irish encounter.
In The Dark Places: Inspector Banks Novel
By Peter Robinson
William Morrow. $25.99
Stretching to 22 titles, this latest Inspector Banks adventure finds the Yorkshire police official and his staff tasked with a case of simple vehicle theft that grows into something far more serious.
The two individuals implicated in the theft have disappeared and the subsequent discovery of a burned out van and bloodstains in an abandoned World War II airport hanger suggest that this is now more than a simple case of grand theft auto.
When a truck slides off an icy road in a hailstorm, the authorities discover two corpses, but only one of them died as a result of the accident. With the weather getting worse and the body count mounting, Banks realizes that he must step up the intensity of the investigation because someone is intent on covering his tracks no matter the cost.
Peter Robinson’s writing awards include both an Edgar and England’s the CWA Dagger prize. His best selling Banks novels have been adopted for the ITV series “DCI BANKS” which is presently in its fourth season airing on PBS in the United States.
Those who enjoy police procedural stories set in England and laced with psychological elements will find this series a very satisfying read. If you haven’t discovered Inspector Banks yet, begin with “In Dark Places” and then try some of the earlier adventures.