Category Archives: Crime novel

Zero To Hero — Donna Tartt spins a murder tale in Vermont

Posted on January 3, 2014 by carto

Murdered—Bunny is dead. He’s lying there at the foot of Mt. Cataract buried by a fateful April snow: “He’d been dead for ten days before they found him, you know. It was one of the biggest manhunts in Vermont history— … Continue reading →

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Rowling– A Celebrity Falls In London’s Mayfair

Posted on September 9, 2013 by carto

It was a dark and stormy night (for it is in London that our scene lies)— the supermodel Lula Landry lies dead on the sidewalk below the balcony of her luxurious Mayfair apartment: Photographers stood massed behind barriers patrolled by … Continue reading →

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Jo Nesbø: Introducing Norwegian Policeman Harry Hole

Posted on May 13, 2012 by carto

The migrating Redbreast is a harbinger of spring in Oslo; seeing one in November is unusual. In the opening scene of the Jo Nesbø’s police thriller Redbreast, two bored police officers are watching an overwintering Robin Redbreast swoop down to … Continue reading →

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A Tourist in Sudan—Intrigue, Duplicity and Murder

Posted on April 25, 2012 by carto

The Sudan has oil for sale; it sells oil primarily to Asian countries, among them China. What if, instead, the sales went to Europe? Or to the U.S.? In Olen Steinhauer’s espionage tale The Tourist (book 1 of the Milo … Continue reading →

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Inspector Chen’s Shanghai: For the Good of the Party

Posted on March 21, 2012 by carto

Two middle-aged Chinese men meet on the Waibaidu Bridge in Shanghai—they look down at the polluted waters of the Suzhou River and reminisce of days past when the river was unpolluted and they fished for carp from the garden park … Continue reading →

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The Robber Bride: Woman against Women

Posted on October 25, 2011 by carto

It is October 23, 1990 and the setting is an avant-garde restaurant in Toronto. A tall well-dressed woman walks into the Toxique at lunchtime. Her name is Zenia. She is tall, well-formed and about 50 years old, but she looks … Continue reading →

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The Parker Novels—A Criminal’s Life. Fiction, Of Course

Posted on September 4, 2011 by carto

As this crime thriller opens, a criminal called Parker is leaving a New Jersey flophouse. He has arranged to meet with a man who has an idea for a heist. If the idea pans out, Parker will put together a … Continue reading →

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Sorghum Justice: Murder and Vengeance in Mexico

Posted on July 22, 2011 by carto

As he enters the ripening sorghum field, Ramón sees an unclothed girl lying face down her own blood. He takes off his shirt to place it over the girl’s nakedness. He approaches closely: he recognizes her face; it is Adela his … Continue reading →

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Mexican Detective Cabrera Listens to Cumbia

Posted on June 24, 2011 by carto

In the fictional world created by Martin Solares: Detective Ramón Cabrera parked his car and walked into the Paracuán police headquarters. He went directly to the chief’s office and opened the door. As soon as he entered the office he … Continue reading →

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Noir Buenos Aires, A Homophobic Taxi Driver

Posted on June 3, 2011 by carto

“A shoemaker!” thinks Mareco. The thought is more that the homophobe can stand, “A shoemaker!” Mareco’s life is a disaster; he can’t sleep at night so he drives a cooperativa (taxi) until dawn—not the safest job for an inept and … Continue reading →

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