Vol 5 Issue 1
Happy New Year
Welcome to the first newsletter of the New Year and welcome to my new subscribers!
In these newsletters I offer my views and recommendations on new and classic novels in the crime and mystery genres. I have been reading crime fiction since I was eight years old and published my first crime novel in 2023.
In this issue I recommend recent novels by two of the top-notch authors working today: Shanghai by Joseph Kanon and Echo by Tracy Clark.
And I also share a list of ten of my favorite classic crime novels perfect for reading in the comfort of your home during these chilly winter months.
Recommendations on New Releases
Shanghai by Joseph Kanon (Published in June 2024)
Known for his novels of intrigue and political turmoil, Joseph Kanon’s current novel, Shanghai doesn’t disappoint. Set in 1939 as World War II is spreading across the globe, Daniel Lohr escapes the Gestapo and sails to Shanghai to join his uncle, who runs a casino there. At first, Lohr feels lucky to arrive in a safe haven but soon learns if he wants to survive he must navigate a lawless city, dominated by criminal gangs and a treacherous political climate. Kanon recreates the atmosphere of a city caught in a power struggle with Japan and its secret police. His characters are complex and so is Lohr’s romantic relationship with Leah, a refugee he met aboard ship.
Echo by Tracy Clark (Published in December 2024)
Echo is the third novel in Tracy Clark’s series featuring Chicago Detective Harriet Foster.
In the depth of the city’s brutal winter, Detective Foster investigates the murder of Brice Collier, a wealthy student at Belverton College, where his father Sebastian is a major benefactor.
Brice Collier’s body is found in a snowy field after a wild party at Hardwicke House, a mansion owned by the Colliers. Detective Foster soon discovers the uncanny resemblance Brice Collier’s murder has to the death of a student thirty years earlier, a death ruled accidental during hazing.
Clark is an award-winning writer, a member of Crime Writers of Color, Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. The Foster series includes Hide and Fall, which are also thrillers to consider for your reading list.
Classic Crime
Ten of My Favorite Classic Crime Novels, listed alphabetically by title
These novels were written by the best writers in the genre whose work has endured over time. It isn’t a definitive list of all my favorites, but these are books that I have read and reread over the years both for enjoyment and, as a writer, to learn from the masters.
The Berlin Trilogy by Philip Kerr (1994)
Philip Kerr’s detective Bernie Gunther is faced with the perils of criminal investigations during the Nazi era. Kerr’s entire series of Bernie Gunther novels are outstanding in plot, character development and his ability to capture the unrelenting tensions Gunther faces as he attempts to solve crimes and avoid the certain fate of enemies of the Nazi regime.
The Berlin Trilogy contains three of the initial novels in the series, March Violets, The Pale Criminal and A German Requiem. Before his death in London in 2018, Kerr wrote fourteen Bernie Gunther novels, all of which I've read and recommend.
A Coffin for Dimitrios by Eric Ambler (1939)
In a series of novels, Eric Ambler thrusts his ordinary protagonists into political intrigues they are completely unprepared for and must struggle to survive. Charles Latimer, a novelist, is initially curious about the criminal career of Dimitrios when his body is identified in an Istanbul morgue. But soon Latimer is thrown into a world of espionage, treachery and assassinations. The novel was made into a motion picture in 1944, featuring Peter Lorre, Sidney Greenstreet and Zachary Scott.
Ambler, who died in London in 1998, was awarded four Gold Daggers and a Diamond Dagger from The Crime Writers Association and named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers Association.
A Drink Before the War by Dennis Lehane (1994)
Dennis Lehane is a best-selling master of noir crime novels based in Boston, including Small Mercies, Mystic River, and Gone Baby Gone. His success began with this debut novel. A Drink Before the War introduces his popular series featuring Boston private detectives Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro. Influential politicians hire the pair to find a black cleaning woman who stole sensitive documents. But the PIs learn that the underlying crime is not theft but evidence of human trafficking and political corruption. When you enter Lehane’s world, you experience authentic characters, snappy dialogue and gritty, brutal crime.
The Friends of Eddie Coyle by George V. Higgens (1970)
This is Higgens’ debut novel, which Dennis Lehane in his Introduction to the fortieth anniversary edition of this classic, called it the “game-changing crime novel of the last fifty years.” Higgens worked as an assistant US Attorney in Boston. The novel is told completely through the dialogue among thieves, gun runners and murderers operating in Boston’s underworld. We learn that Eddie Coyle is in deep trouble with both the authorities and the crooks. And that Eddie Coyle has no friends.
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle (1902)
The classic tale of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson pursuing a huge, murderous hound through the moors of England’s West Country is by far the most read among Doyle’s four Holmes’ novels. The majority of Holmes’ adventures are short stories. Holmes and Watson are called in to protect Sir Henry, heir to Sir Charles Baskerville, whose body is found surrounded by large paw prints. Holmes’s clever deductions, Dr. Watson’s essential help, the eerie atmosphere of the moor and the legend of a demonic hound are ingredients for a powerful, spine-tingling tale that is a treat to read.
Innocent Blood by P.D. James (1980)
This is a stand-alone novel by P.D. James, known for her award-winning series featuring Detective Adam Dalgliesh. In Innocent Blood, a young woman is determined to reunite with her biological mother, who is a convicted murderer recently released from prison. This is a many layered novel with insights into family dynamics, child abuse and revenge. In 1999 James was honored with the Grandmaster Award by Mystery Writers of America. She died in 2014.
Looking for Rachel Wallace by Robert B. Parker (1980)
Parker's detective Spenser is tough, strong and well-educated. Although unique, Spense continues in the tradition of the hard-boiled PI. Looking for Rachel Wallace is the sixth book in Parker’s series and one of his best.
Spenser is hired by her publisher to protect Rachel Wallace, a feminist activist and lesbian whose books create controversy and enemies. When she is kidnapped, Spenser feels duty-bound to find her. Parker was named Grand Master in 2002 by the Mystery Writers of America. He was the author of forty novels before his death in 2010.
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett (1929)
Private detective Sam Spade hunts down the killer of his partner, who is shot while on a case. Spade is the epitome of the hard-boiled PI, frequently copied but never surpassed. Spade is drawn into the quest for a black bird sought by a devious crew of impossible to forget characters, Gutman, called the fat man, Joel Cairo, a sophisticated criminal, and Spade’s client Bridget O’Shaughnessy, deceptive and clever. The 1941 noir film had perfect casting: Humphrey Bogart as Spade, Peter Lorre as Cairo, Sydney Greenstreet as Gutman and Mary Astor as O’Shaughnessy. Hammett, a former Pinkerton detective, wrote five novels and more than eighty short stories and is credited with inventing the hard-boiled PI. He died in 1961 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, having served in both world wars.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (1926)
Considered among Agatha Christie’s best novels, her detective Hercule Poirot, now retired, investigates Roger Ackroyd's murder with the aid of a local doctor, who narrates the story. Similar to the pairing of Holmes and Watson? In this novel, Christie emphasizes Poirot’s use of deduction and reasoning to capture the killer. There are the usual suspects but the unique unmasking of the killer is the piece de resistance.
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (1860)
The Woman in White is a gripping Victorian mystery which has never been out of print. On a deserted London street, Walter Hartright, an art teacher, provides direction to a woman, dressed in white, who is lost and distressed. When he takes up a post tutoring a young woman, he realizes that she has a strong resemblance to the woman in white. What follows is a suspenseful tale of deception, greed and switched identities. The novel, told from multiple points of view, is filled with unexpected twists, and diabolical villains. Collins is credited with inventing the modern detective novel. His novel, The Moonstone, is another of his works that should make it onto your to-read list.
Feedback Welcomed
Please email me with your feedback when you read any of my recommendation. I’ll share your thoughts with our other subscribers in my next newsletter. And please be sure to add my email, chrisquarembo@gmail.com to your contact list. This avoids the newsletter going into your spam file.
Exciting News
My short story,The Price of Death, will be available as an eBook on Amazon in February. Hope you'll check it out.
About Chris
Chris Quarembo is an award-winning former newspaper reporter. Her debut novel Killer Deals won an Independent Publisher Award for Excellence in 2024. Her short stories in the crime and mystery genre are available on Amazon. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and the Brandywine Valley Writers Group. Her website is chrisquarembo.com.
“Reading brings us unknown friends” – Honore de Balzac
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