London Calling by James Craig

A new London crime detective takes to the big city streets with a vengeance.  There is a little political intrigue mixed up with the murders John Carlyle is investigating...the case involves a former Cambridge University club filled with future politicos who are being killed off one by one years later. Carlyle is a believable London inspector who fights crime with a passion, though the writing could be a little better and the book does have its fair share of cliches.  Not the best British mystery (by a long shot) but far from the worst.  Definitely something for British mystery lovers to try. 

Niles Adult Fiction STAFF PICKS of the Best Fiction from 2011

Allison Will—Long Drive Home

Atkinson, Kate—Started Early, Took My Dog

Barclay, Linwood—The Accident

Barnes, Julian—Pulse: Stories

Benjamin, Melanie—The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb

Berg, Elizabeth—Once Upon a Time, There Was You

Bradley, Alan—A Red Herring Without Mustard

Brooks, Geraldine—Caleb’s Crossing

Brown, Eleanor—Weird Sisters 

Clowes, Daniel—Mister Wonderful: A Love Story
Craig, James—London Calling

Crais, Robert—The Sentry

Ebert, Roger—Life Itself (NF)

Eugenides, Jeffrey—The Marriage Plot

Evans, Richard Paul—Miles To Go

Fey, Tina—Bossy Pants (NF)

Frazier, Charles—Nightwoods

Garwood, Julie—The Ideal Man

Genova, Lisa—Left Neglected
Gerritsen, Tess—Silent Girl

Goldman, Francisco—Say Her Name

Goodwin, Daisy—The American Heiress

Grafton, Sue—V is for Vengeance

Grossman, Lev—The Magician King

Haigh, Jennifer—Faith

Hannah, Kristin—Night Road

Hansen, Ron—A Wild Surge of Guilty Passion

Hodkinson, Amanda—22 Britannia Road
Hoffman, Alice—Red Garden

Hurwitz, Gregg—You’re Next

Kepler, Lars—The Hypnotist 

Lowe, Rob—Stories I Only Tell My Friends

Mankell, Henning—The Troubled Man

McLain, Paula—The Paris Wife

McNeal, Tom—To Be Sung Underwater

Mitzner, Adam—Conflict of Interest

Nesbo, Jo—The Snowman
O’Nan, Stewart—Emily, Alone

Pelecanos, George—The Cut

Penny, Louise—Trick of the Light 
Rosenfelt, David—On Borrowed Time

Russell, Mary Doria—Doc

Ryan, David Jahn—Good Neighbors

Schwartz, John Burnham—Northwest Corner

See, Lisa—Dreams of Joy

Sin, Kyong-Suk—Please Look After Mom

Spelling, Elizabeth—The Return of Captain John Emmett

Sullivan, J. Courtney—Maine

Waldman, Amy—The Submission


Ward, J.R.—Lover Unleashed 
Weiner, Jennifer—Then Came You

Winspear, Jacqueline—A Lesson in Secrets

The Return of Captain John Emmett by Elizabeth Speller

Set in 1920 London, this mystery intertwines the horrors of World War I in a web of war survivors, murders, romance, social customs and history. Recovering from the trauma of both serving in the war and losing a wife and child, Laurence Bartram receives news of the suicide death of a classmate, Captain John Emmett. Feeling compassion for the family, Laurence comes to the aid of his sister to discover the why of the suicide and bequests to unknown individuals in his will. Laurence falls hopelessly in love with the sister, Mary. The investigation becomes one of can’t stop reading intrigue when it is discovered that Captain Emmett was a member of a firing squad for the execution of a British sergeant for desertion during the war.
Aiding Laurence in this investigation is good friend Charles. Charles knows everything and everyone and he steals every scene where he is placed and provides many light moments amid the darkness. The author does not spare the reader from the sad awfulness of World War I. This war destroyed a generation with over 1.6 million British men wounded, 662,000 men killed and 140,000 men reported missing in action. The novel’s core focuses on the psychological trauma of the survivors, shell shock, and vividly awakens the reader to current copings with the post traumatic stress disorder of contemporary military veterans.
This mystery has a lot to offer. While discovering the history of post World War I Britain, the reader can savor the puzzle of who, what and why.

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand is a fantastic book about love, friendship and prejudice at any time in life, within any social status, anywhere in the world.  The character of Major Ernest Pettigrew is pretty much the stereotypical older English gentleman.  He’s classy, he’s respectful, he’s neat and tidy, he’s quiet and he’s not one to ever make a scene.  Enter Mrs. Jasmina Ali and her Pakistani background and ways and the Major finds his proper, sedate life turned upside down.  Right from the start, there is some chemistry between Mrs. Ali and the Major but because of both cultural and class prejudices (from the townspeople, from the Major’s son Roger and even from the Major himself), Mrs. Ali leaves the town, and the Major, behind.  What the Major does next leads to one of the best “adult” endings in fiction ever.  Very little in this book is trite or clichéd.  An excellent, mature read for all…not only for those in the twilight of their lives.