"Cursed Mansion" Mystery with Great Legal Updates, in MURDER AT BLACK OAKS by Phillip Margolin

 [Originally published at New York Journal of Books]

“This skillfully written and well-polished ‘new classic’ mystery is a perfect winter read, ideal for an armchair journey that’s a page-turner without forcing you to check the locks on the windows and doors.”

 

It’s not likely that you’ll find a new Agatha Christie mystery to read—but Phillip Margolin makes up for that with his sixth Robin Lockwood novel, Murder at Black Oaks. In fact, the author declares at the opening that this highly enjoyable and suspenseful tale is an homage to the Golden Age of mysteries, with “an impossible murder, a haunted mansion, secret passages, a werewolf curse.” And all this comes with the adroit and intelligent Robin Lockwood, a prominent defense attorney with finely honed skills that apply to accused murderers.

 

Called to Black Oaks, a monstrous rural manor that’s become a memorial to both death and English history, Robin’s warned by her staff that a werewolf curse could be involved. She’s a natural skeptic. But what crimes could be entangled with the dark myth? 

 

The man summoning her out of her urban comfort zone of Portland, OR, to the isolation of Solitude Mountain, has also been a district attorney. But for 30 years, Frank Melville’s suffered under the knowledge that his skills placed an innocent man onto Death Row. Burdened with the actual murderer’s confession but unable to act on it because of client confidentiality, he’s retreated from public life and suffered both the death of his wife and debilitating injuries that keep him in a wheelchair.

 

His request to Robin Lockwood comes from learning that the actual criminal is now dead. Can Robin find a legal way for Melville to finally reveal the truth, and perhaps get Jose Alvarez—no longer a promising young man, but a bitter one trapped in prison—justice at last? Even this question roots in tragedy and suspicion, as the fragile and aging man explains:

 

“There is a curse on anyone who lives in Black Oaks, and God visited that curse on me when he took my Katherine away and left me like this. To atone for letting Jose Alvarez rot in prison while I knew he was innocent. I’ve tried to save other innocent defendants, but even my few victories haven’t brought me peace. … I want you to do what I can’t. I want you to save Jose’s life.”

 

Lockwood and her team may be up to that part of the assignment. But when murder and added threats arrive at the mansion, in the midst of a storm that traps Robin there without phone or drivable road, surrounded by people whose motives and opportunities mesh with the new death, Robin’s in personal danger.

 

The moment the storm cuts off the roadway, of course, Agatha Christie’s country-house murder mysteries echo into this one. Margolin’s also aiming to honor Ellery Queen and John Dickson Carr in his plot, and fans of these early mysteries can ease contentedly into harness, knowing the kinds of twists that must like ahead and confident that Robin will find the right allies to bring her—and any other “good guys” on the scene—to a relieved resolution of crime past and present.

 

This skillfully written and well-polished “new classic” mystery is a perfect winter read, ideal for an armchair journey that’s a page-turner without forcing you to check the locks on the windows and doors. No need to have read others in this series beforehand—Margolin’s neat brushing in of details gives plenty of grounding. But of course, you may want to collect the entire series, to get you through the rest of the darker season ahead.

 

PS:  Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here. 

Delicious Ice Cream-Oriented Mystery Series Debut: PINT OF NO RETURN, Dana Mentink

This series debut from seasoned (award-winning) romance author Dana Mentink is a must for the summer TBR stack, perfect for beach reading or one of those rainy afternoons when you're stuck inside the house or cabin. The premise of PINT OF NO RETURN is delightful: Trinidad Jones had no intention of relocating to a small town in Oregon, but her beloved husband (now ex) turned out to be an embezzler with multiple wives ... and the only thing solid he provided her with, on his way to prison, was a storefront. Dipping into her dreams, she's opening the Shimmy and Shake Shop and scooping up ginormous festive shakes with "the works" for her hoped-for clientele.

Ramping the suspense right away is the presence of the other two wives in town! And Trinidad's not exactly an easy fit into Oregon culture ... with her grandfather Papa Luis suggesting, from the other end of the country, that she's way out of her culture and her comfort zone.

Good giggles and guffaws are packed into this cleverly crafted cozy, starting when Trinidad finds the local popcorn store owner murdered and realizes the investigating police chief is the older sister of her ex. No filter here, as she squeaks out, "The sister who stole cars?"

And here's the heart of this heart-warming mystery:

"People change, ma'am," the chief said after a beat. "I don't steal cars anymore. The Army set me on the straight and narrow. They're pretty good at helping a person reconfigure their priorities." She cocked her chin. "I've met Juliette and Bonnie. I didn't plan on getting to know the remaining ex-wife at a murder scene."

Ice cream, romance, an adorable service dog named Noodles ... this charmer has lots to enjoy, and with a seasoned author spilling the dialogue and slipping the scenes into place, it's a pleasure to read. The interactions between Trinidad and the chief also highlight the reality of amateur sleuthing:

[Trinidad] felt a flicker of anger. "I don't think you're exactly on Juliette's side. You sent her to jail."

The chief's eyes were cold. "The evidence sent her to jail, and you shutting me out might have just cost us information that could have cleared her. Did you think of that while you were playing detective?"

Highly recommended. And I'll be watching for more from Dana Mentink, who clearly knows both human nature and how ordinary people pull up their courage and help each other at the toughest of times.

From Poisoned Pen Press, on sale May 25.

PS: Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here.

The Lure of Chocolate, in DANGEROUSLY DARK, by Colette London

The second in the "Chocolate Whisperer" series by Collete London releases today, and it's another lively mystery at the "unsweetened" edge of the cozies field. Despite the foodie orientation and abundant chocolate puns, DANGEROUSLY DARK piles up the risks and threats, until it's close to a traditional mystery, with recipes added at the end.

Hayley Mundy Moore is a professional "chocolate whisperer" -- that is, she helps chocolate manufacturers, especially the upscale ones, work out the kinks in their processes and even their marketing. She gets paid well for her expertise, as introduced in the first title, Criminal Confections, and has two assistants: hunky Danny, her bodyguard (who knew you needed that in kitchen-related work?!), and mysterious Travis, managing her trust fund and giving her financial guidance, as well as making her plane reservations and keeping her calendar up to date.

Which is why it's Travis's delicious voice that sends Hayley up the West Coast to Portland, Oregon, for her college friend Carissa's engagement party. Unfortunately, Carissa's fiancé is the first casualty of the trip, and although Hayley doesn't quite grasp why her college buddy, long out of touch, wanted her on hand for the party, she quickly realizes that it's going to be impossible to turn down Carissa's immediate request: that Hayley take on the leadership of the dead fiancé's "Chocolate After Dark" tour. It's also not long before Hayley realizes that Carissa isn't really the simple cuddly sweetheart that she projects so well, as needed.

I enjoyed London's fast-paced mystery, but got frustrated with Hayley's crime-solving style after a while: Think out loud to the reader (and anyone else nearby) about who's got motives and who could have opportunity, take some risks in trying to catch that person, decide it's the wrong candidate as murderer, switch to the next one ... But it's a style that works well with page-turning, and with Hayley's repeated assurance that it's chocolate where her expertise lies, not sleuthing.

The series continues next fall with The Semisweet Hereafter -- a publishing schedule that allows London (a pseudonym for a very busy author) to tackle some other writing projects. I'll let you do the sleuthing to track who this "really" is behind the writing desk! Meanwhile, the tasty chocolate recipes from this series are stacking up nicely. I think I need to try out "Chocolate Un-Cinnamon Rolls" from DANGEROUSLY DARK. Very soon!

Exciting Debut: PAST CRIMES, Glen Erik Hamilton

Reading another author's Facebook musings last month, I noticed her enthusiasm about a debut mystery from Seattle native (and now California resident) Glen Erik Hamilton. So I picked up a copy, and soon was in "can't put it down" mode. As many reviewers have noted, this is a very polished "first novel" -- no signs at all of being a debut. So I've got to wonder what Hamilton has already written, and where it's been published.

But Hamilton hasn't revealed that, in the dozen interviews of him that I've scanned. In fact, the only hint on his writing career is one comment that "moving away from Seattle" made him want to write about the city where he'd grown up. He also admitted to one interviewer that he hadn't actually started out with "I'm going to write a mystery" -- his adventure featuring Army Ranger Van Shaw, who's been in both Iraq and Afghanistan with the elite fighting corps, started with the relationship of Van and his grandfather, Dono (for Donovan; an Irish immigrant). Dono raised Van and trained him, when the boy showed an aptitude for it, in the trade of immaculately planned robberies, midsize to almost large. The kind that are worth doing, but never with a serious risk of being caught, because Dono is such a detailed planner and so careful to note his surroundings.

At first, it's not clear why Van left home -- just that when Dono sends the equivalent (for anyone else's life) of a shout for help ("Come home, if you can"), Van didn't hesitate to apply for leave and race across the globe.

His arrival is literally minutes too late to find out what's wrong. There's been a vicious attack on his grandfather, and the attacker is racing away as Van finds himself pinned to his desperately wounded relative, needing to staunch the bleeding and call for help. Soon he's telling his story to police detectives. And it's a sure thing that he'll be a suspect in spite of all this: His grandfather's shady record emerges right away, and Van's in the hot seat.

Complications quickly snarl around his legs, keeping Van from speedily tracking down the underlying truth of the situation. The police are naturally suspicious of whether Dono's attack came from brothers in crime; Dono's above-board business interests demand Van's attention; secrets abound. He's trying to think on his feet, as he discovers his grandfather's last phone call had been to Ephraim Ganz, a criminal attorney:

What Dr. Singh had asked me earlier that day came flooding back. Did my grandfather have a living will? Christ, was that why Dono had called Ganz? Had he known that trouble was coming?

My fingers gripped the phone, as if testing the limit of strength in my healed arm. Tomorrow was Monday. Ganz's office would be open. Or I could find Hollis.

Addy Proctor had summed it up for me: You have to do something. Or go nuts.

I was halfway to crazy already. It was time to start pushing in the other direction.

As always, what makes a well-plotted crime novel unforgettable is the intensity of the protagonist. Van Shaw's uneasy position, halfway between "trained young thief" and much-appreciated Army Ranger, perched on the edge of a wild land of his grandfather's secrets, turns him into an unlikely and uncomfortable sleuth, one who may decide that balancing the scales of justice is best done personally, rather than through the law.

One more good part about this book: The cover says "A Van Shaw Novel." That's a sure sign there's another one already in the pipeline. And in fact, a quick visit to the author's website (click here) gets you to his blog, which reveals the manuscript for number 2 is already headed to the publisher. Way to go!