New MRBC June 2021 nominations (Mystery)

[JSWolf]

This category for June 2021 is Mystery.

Everyone gets three nominations and three seconds.

We'll end the nominations on May 28 and the voting will start on May 29.

So let the nominations begin.

[JSWolf]

Nominated
The Little Sister by Raymond Chandler (Paperbackstash)
The Verdict by Nick Stone (Paperbackstash)
The Monkey's Raincoat by Robert Crais (John F)
The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman (John F)
The Conjurer's Bird by Martin Davies (Uncle Robin)

Seconded (off to the vote)
Billy Boyle by James R. Benn (Mims, hildea)
Eye of the Needle by Ken Follet (drofgnal, Luffy)
Plum Island by Nelson DeMille (Paperbackstash, Luffy)
The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey (hildea, Mims)
Death is a Lonely Business by Ray Bradbury (JSWolf, Mims)
A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn (hildea, John F)
The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King (John F, JSWolf)
The Red House Mystery by A. A. Milne (JSwolf, hildea)

[hildea]

I nominate:

Deanna Raybourn: A Curious Beginning

https://www.deannaraybourn.com/book/...ous-beginning/

London, 1887. After burying her spinster aunt, orphaned Veronica Speedwell is free to resume her world travels in pursuit of scientific inquiry—and the occasional romantic dalliance. As familiar with hunting butterflies as with fending off admirers, Veronica intends to embark upon the journey of a lifetime.

But fate has other plans when Veronica thwarts her own attempted abduction with the help of an enigmatic German baron, who offers her sanctuary in the care of his friend Stoker, a reclusive and bad-tempered natural historian. But before the baron can reveal what he knows of the plot against her, he is found murdered—leaving Veronica and Stoker on the run from an elusive assailant as wary partners in search of the villainous truth.

[hildea]

I also nominate:

Sujata Massey: The Widows of Malabar Hill
https://sujatamassey.com/books/india/malabarhill/
(Published as A Murder on Malabar Hill in India and A Murder at Malabar Hill in Australia/NZ)

Bombay, 1921: Perveen Mistry, the daughter of a respected Zoroastrian family, has just joined her father’s law firm, becoming one of the first female lawyers in India. Armed with an Oxford, legal education, Perveen also has a tragic personal history that makes her especially devoted to championing and protecting women’s legal rights.

Mistry Law has been appointed to execute the will of Mr. Omar Farid, a wealthy Muslim mill owner who has left three widows behind. But as Perveen examines the paperwork, she notices something strange: all three of the wives have signed over their full inheritance to a charity. What will they live on? Perveen is suspicious, especially since one of the widows has signed her form with an X—meaning she probably couldn’t even read the document. The Farid widows live in full purdah—in strict seclusion, never leaving the women’s quarters or speaking to any men. Are they being taken advantage of by an unscrupulous guardian? Perveen tries to investigate, and realizes her instincts were correct when tensions escalate to murder. Now it is her responsibility to figure out what really happened on Malabar Hill, and to ensure that no innocent women or children are in further danger.

[John F]

I'll nominate The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King.

From Amazon:

An Agatha Award Best Novel Nominee • Named One of the Century's Best 100 Mysteries by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association

In 1915, Sherlock Holmes is retired and quietly engaged in the study of honeybees in Sussex when a young woman literally stumbles onto him on the Sussex Downs. Fifteen years old, gawky, egotistical, and recently orphaned, the young Mary Russell displays an intellect to impress even Sherlock Holmes. Under his reluctant tutelage, this very modern, twentieth-century woman proves a deft protégée and a fitting partner for the Victorian detective. They are soon called to Wales to help Scotland Yard find the kidnapped daughter of an American senator, a case of international significance with clues that dip deep into Holmes's past. Full of brilliant deduction, disguises, and danger, The Beekeeper's Apprentice, the first book of the Mary Russell–Sherlock Holmes mysteries, is "remarkably beguiling" (The Boston Globe).

[Mims]

I nominate Billy Boyle.

Billy Boyle
Billy Boyle A World War II Mystery #1
By James R. Benn

Synopsis
“This book has got it all—an instant classic.”—Lee Child, author of The Hard Way
“It is a pleasure marching off to war with the spirited Billy Boyle. He is a charmer, richly imagined and vividly rendered, and he tells a finely suspenseful yarn.”—Dan Fesperman, author of The Prisoner of Guantanamo
What’s a twenty-two-year-old Irish American cop who’s never been out of Massa-chusetts before doing at Beardsley Hall, an English country house, having lunch with King Haakon of Norway? Billy Boyle himself wonders. Back home in Southie, he’d barely made detective when war was declared. Unwilling to fight—and perhaps die—for England, he was relieved when his mother wangled a job for him on the staff of a general married to her distant cousin. But the general turns out to be Dwight D. Eisenhower, whose headquarters are in London, which is undergoing the Blitz. And Uncle Ike wants Billy to be his personal investigator.
Billy is dispatched to the seat of the Norwegian government in exile. Operation Jupiter, the impending invasion of Norway, is being planned, but it is feared that there is a German spy amongst the Norwegians.
Billy doubts his own abilities, with good reason. A theft and two murders test his investigative powers, but Billy proves to be a better detective than he or anyone else expected.

Available at Amazon, Kobo, and some Overdrive libraries.

[drofgnal]

I'll nominate 'Eye of the Needle' by Ken Follet. I bought this a while back as a kindle deal of the day purchase and have yet to get around to reading it. From Amazon:

is code name was “The Needle.” He was a German aristocrat of extraordinary intelligence—a master spy with a legacy of violence in his blood, and the object of the most desperate manhunt in history. . . .

But his fate lay in the hands of a young and vulnerable English woman, whose loyalty, if swayed, would assure his freedom—and win the war for the Nazis. . . .

It might be borderline for a mystery, but I found it in a list of best mystery books.

[Paperbackstash]

For one of my mystery nominations, nominating a classic from Raymond Chandler that I haven't read yet, The Little Sister

Goodreads | Amazon | Hoopla

Crime fiction master Raymond Chandler's fifth novel featuring Philip Marlowe, the "quintessential urban private eye" (Los Angeles Times).

In noir master Raymond Chandler's The Little Sister, a movie starlet with a gangster boyfriend and a pair of siblings with a shared secret lure private eye Philip Marlowe into the less than glamorous and more than a little dangerous world of Hollywood fame. Chandler's first foray into the industry that dominates the company town that is Los Angeles.

[Paperbackstash]

Second Mystery Nomination, The Verdict by Nick Stone.

Goodreads | Amazon

Description from Goodreads

When Terry Flynt gets the chance to defend a millionaire accused of murder he knows that the case could make his career, but the accused man is Flynt’s greatest enemy—can he defend a man who ruined his life?

Terry Flynt is a struggling legal clerk, desperately trying to get promoted. And then he is given the biggest opportunity of his career: to help defend a millionaire accused of murdering a woman in his hotel suite.

The only problem is that the accused man, Vernon James, turns out to be not only someone he knows, but someone he loathes. This case could potentially make Terry's career, but how can he defend a former friend who betrayed him so badly?

With the trial date looming, Terry delves deeper into Vernon's life and is forced to confront secrets from their shared past that could have devastating consequences for them both. For years he has wanted to witness Vernon's downfall, but with so much at stake, how can Terry be sure that he is guilty? And what choices must he make to ensure that justice is done?

[Paperbackstash]

Third Nomination, Plum Island by Nelson DeMille

Larger book but has a good reputation.

Goodreads | Amazon

Wounded in the line of duty, NYPD homicide detective John Corey convalesces in the Long Island township of Southold, home to farmers, fishermen -- and at least one killer. Tom and Judy Gordon, a young, attractive couple Corey knows, have been found on their patio, each with a bullet in the head. The local police chief, Sylvester Maxwell, wants Corey's big-city expertise, but Maxwell gets more than he bargained for.

John Corey doesn't like mysteries, which is why he likes to solve them. His investigations lead him into the lore, legends, and ancient secrets of northern Long Island -- more deadly and more dangerous than he could ever have imagined. During his journey of discovery, he meets two remarkable women, Detective Beth Penrose and Mayflower descendant Emma Whitestone, both of whom change his life irrevocably. Ultimately, through his understanding of the murders, John Corey comes to understand himself.

Fast-paced and atmospheric, marked by entrancing characters, incandescent storytelling, and brilliant comic touches, Plum Island is Nelson DeMille at his thrill-inducing best.

[JSWolf]

I am going to nominate Death is a Lonely Business by Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury creates a stylish and slightly fantastical tale of mayhem and murder set among the shadows and the murky canals of Venice, California, in the early 1950s.

Toiling away amid the looming palm trees and decaying bungalows, a struggling young writer (who bears a resemblance to the author) spins fantastic stories from his fertile imagination upon his clacking typewriter. Trying not to miss his girlfriend (away studying in Mexico), the nameless writer steadily crafts his literary effort—until strange things begin happening around him.

Starting with a series of peculiar phone calls, the writer then finds clumps of seaweed on his doorstep. But as the incidents escalate, his friends fall victim to a series of mysterious "accidents"—some of them fatal. Aided by Elmo Crumley, a savvy, street-smart detective, and a reclusive actress of yesteryear with an intense hunger for life, the wordsmith sets out to find the connection between the bizarre events, and in doing so, uncovers the truth about his own creative abilities.

Overdrive
Amazon US | Amazon UK
Kobo US | Kobo UK
eBooks.com US | eBooks.com UK

[JSWolf]

So far, we have some good nominations. Keep up the good work.

[hildea]

I second Billy Boyle.

[Luffy]

I second Plum Island.

I second Eye of the Needle.

[Mims]

Originally Posted by hildea

I also nominate:

Sujata Massey: The Widows of Malabar Hill
https://sujatamassey.com/books/india/malabarhill/
(Published as A Murder on Malabar Hill in India and A Murder at Malabar Hill in Australia/NZ)

I second “The Widows of Malabar Hill”.