Spencer Quinn
Arena
Like all dogs, Chet takes what humans say literally, so when Bernie mutters that "sometimes you've just got to roll the dice", Chet thinks: "Oh no, not the dice. The last time - in some late-night dive after the Police Athletic League fundraiser - we'd had to pawn Bernie's grandfather's watch, our most valuable possession".
The pair follow the trail of the missing elephant, Chet is distracted by a lady pooch in Mexico, he and Bernie are attacked - but in the end, they solve the mystery.
A delightful, lightweight little murder mystery that will have readers sitting up begging for more - and that's just the canines.
STOLEN
Susan Lewis
Arrow
Stolen continues well, as the child, Lucy, now married with a teenage daughter, leaves London to take over the auction house owned by the couple she believes to be her parents. The deterioration of Lucy's marriage to out-of-work actor Joe is especially well portrayed.
However, from about halfway through, the plot relies too much on coincidence, a device suggesting Lewis was rushing to finish the novel and thereby weakening the structure. Stolen could have been a much better book with more work. As it is, it is a pleasant tale that will be forgotten days after the reader closes the covers.
• If you are stuck with a surname that has people frequently making Rowan Atkinson jokes, the answer is simple: find out where the name came from.
THE RAVEN'S HEART
Jesse Blackadder
Fourth Estate
Jesse Blackadder did just that, heading from her home in New South Wales to Scotland and the ruins of Blackadder House, in Berwickshire.
She learned of Captain William Blackadder's alleged involvement in the 1567 murder of Lord Henry Stuart Darnley, husband of Mary Queen of Scots. Blackadder was hanged, drawn and quartered for his alleged part but the murderer was never found.
This bloody episode in Scottish history and other stories of the time were the inspiration for The Raven's Heart, a mix of fact, fantasy and conjecture.
As Mary Queen of Scots returns by sea from France to regain control of her throne, Alison Blackadder disguises herself as a boy so she can travel as a crew member on the ship. Her aim is to persuade the queen to return the Blackadder lands to her.
Alison becomes the queen's spy, finding lies and danger in every direction. Like Mary, she can trust no-one.
History, intrigue and even romance combine in this sweeping story which, above all, gives an idea of the depths of treachery in the young queen's court.
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake.
THE PARTICULAR SADNESS OF LEMON CAKE
Aimee Bender
Windmill
The night before her 9th birthday, Rose Edelstein takes a bite of her mother's lemon cake, then realises she can "taste" her mother's emotions in the cake. This ability stays with Rose as she grows up, giving her secret knowledge about her parents and brother.
A sad tale about the strangeness of others' lives, the readability of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake would be considerably improved had the writer not decided to dispense with quotation marks. Arty, perhaps; irritating, definitely.
THE GUARDIAN ANGEL'S JOURNAL
Carolyn Jess-Cooke
Piatkus
- Gillian Vine is a Dunedin writer.
