Lee Harris (1) (1935–)

Murder in Hell's Kitchen introduces Detective Jane Bauer, a veteran cop coming up to 20 years of service and recently assigned to a new cold case task force. With her team of three, Jane finds herself caught up in the four year old murder of Arlen Quill - a case which only seems to be getting hotter the more they investigate.

I enjoyed this. The characters are somewhat bland but I liked the plot and the cold case they investigate. I'm not sure why it's necessary to make all female cops (or at least most) absolute messes in their personal lives but Jane is apparently no exception to the rule. She's in the process of moving, recently broken up with her married boss and has a random letter which is soon revealed to be from her biological daughter she gave up for adoption. Honestly I could have done without the backstory. It didn't add anything to the story and mainly just made Jane feel like every other female detective out there. The romance in particular was pretty cringe, although thankfully not too excessive.

That said, I liked the plot. I was fairly invested in the mystery by the end. I wanted to know who and why and what and I was flicking through pages to find out. This is a typical procedural though - slower paced and more focused on unfolding the mystery rather than action packed thrills. But this was exactly what I was in the mood for and I was thoroughly entertained. 3 stars.… (meer)

Book number 7 in the Christine Bennett mystery series. The former nun is invited to a Passover seder by her neighbor. During the event she learns that sixteen years prior, the neighbor’s aunt Iris disappeared in the middle of the Passover meal. Her body was found a few days later but the mystery of her death has never been solved.

I really like this main character. Christine is intelligent, calm, deliberate, tenacious and compassionate. She gains the trust of those she interviews and manages to ferret out information that even the police failed to uncover. Her husband, Jack, is a detective with the NYPD, and also going to law school, so while he’s always willing to listen and offer advice (and some “inside” help now and again) Christine manages quite well on her own.

One thing I like about this series (and the Kinsey Millhone series by Sue Grafton) is the setting in a time period before cell phones, computers and googling. The person doing the detecting has to rely on lots of tedious footwork and research, as well as keen observation and a well-hone intuition when interviewing suspects / witnesses.… (meer)