For my grandparents, Nana and Jim, and my parents
with thanks for encouraging my love of reading.
Love Kathy
“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free."
Frederick Douglass
© MysteryBookDectective.com , Kathy Johnson
The moral rights of the author have been asserted.
MysteryBookDetective.com
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Welcome
Hi, I’m Kathy, the founder of
MysteryBookDectective.com.
Thank you for joining my email list. I really
appreciate your support. I aim to build the site into
a fantastic resource full of book reviews and news
for all things Mystery, Crime and Thriller related.
I’ve been a confirmed bookworm since childhood.
I guess it’s not surprising since both my parents
are teachers, and I grew up in a house full of
books.
I have vivid childhood memories of reading books late at night by torch light when I
supposed to be asleep. Even then I didn’t want to put down a good book!
I’ve always enjoyed mystery books. Some of my childhood favorites were Enid
Blyton’s Famous Five and Secret Seven novels. As I got a bit older, I graduated to
the likes of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys.
As an adult, I continue to read a wide range of books, everything from women's
fiction and romance to mystery, crime and thriller novels. I also really enjoy
inspirational true stories and occasionally a bit of science fiction. I am never without
a book to read.
Reading to me has always been an opportunity to escape to another world for a
while. Anytime I’m upset I know I can escape into a good book. I have always found
reading both relaxing and fun.
I couldn’t imagine my life if I couldn’t read. It’s not just that a reasonable level of
literacy (and numeracy) is essential to cope in today’s society, it’s the ability that
reading gives us to learn, and therefore acquire critical thinking skills. I think the
following quote from Frederick Douglass is so true:
"Once you learn to read, you will be forever free." -.
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Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 1
Sherlock Homes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ............................................................................................ 2
Millennium trilogy by Stieg Larsson ........................................................................................................ 6
The ‘In Death’ by J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts)...................................................................................... 9
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 12
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Introduction
This mini ebook features three exclusive book reviews that are currently only
available to subscribers of the MysteryBookDectective.com newsletter. This is my
small way of saying thank you for your support.
I have chosen these reviews for two reasons: Firstly these reviews are of some of
my absolute all-time favorite mystery/crime series. Secondly; these reviews
represent a journey through time as each one is set in a different time period, one
from the past, one from the present and one set in the future. I hope you enjoy
taking this journey through time with me.
From the past, I have chosen to revisit a truly great Detective series, Sherlock
Holmes, with a particular focus on The Hound of The Baskervilles by Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle. I simply couldn’t overlook Sherlock with his incredible powers of
deduction and reasoning. No other literary Detective has retained his popularity for
over 100 years in the same way as Sherlock has. There have been numerous
adaptations for television and film which have kept the Detective series alive for
modern audiences, however, the original books are still well worth a read. The
Hound of The Baskervilles is a classic mystery investigating the death of Sir Charles
Baskerville and the possible connections with the Baskerville family curse. Is there
any truth to the existence of a legendary supernatural hound?
To represent the present I have chosen the Millennium trilogy by Stieg Larsson. This
series has been massively popular and was made into a major movie series. The
two main characters are Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander. Mikael is an
investigative journalist and co-owner of Millennium Magazine, hence the title of the
trilogy. Lisbeth is hired as a Research Assistant to work with Mikael. Lisbeth is a
really strong female character with some unique characteristics. The trilogy deals
with a number of series issues including; power and corruption, murder and violence
against women. I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next.
To represent the future I have reviewed the J.D. Robb In Death series featuring
Lieutenant Eve Dallas and billionaire husband Roarke. This is a fantastic series set
in the future, circa 2060. There are over 40 novels in the In Death series, each novel
features a different murder that Eve and her team must solve. While this series is
primarily a police procedural, I believe a lot of its popularity is due to people falling in
love with the characters in the series and wanting to see what happens to them next.
Throughout the series readers have seen both Eve and Roarke overcome very
difficult pasts, fall in love and build an extended family. The elements of romance
and humor in the novels add a great touch to lighten the inevitable darker side of the
novels.
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Sherlock Homes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Sherlock Holmes books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are classics in the mystery
book genre. Published between 1887 (A Study in Scarlet) and 1927 (stories that
would become The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes) they still stand the test of time.
The only other author that I considered for
this spot was Agatha Christie. However,
while Agatha Christie’s stories are excellent
classics, they were written slightly later and
do not share the same on screen popularity.
Sherlock Holmes has been portrayed in
movies and TV over 250 times, earning a
Guinness World Record for having more
movie and TV portrayals than any other
literary character. Each movie and TV series
has helped to keep the Sherlock Holmes
legend alive and allowed new generations to
discover the Sherlock Holmes universe. Of particular note are the recent TV series
Sherlock and Elementary.
My favorite is the BBCs Emmy award winning series ‘Sherlock’. This series stars
Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock and Martin Freeman as Watson. In my opinion
this series has done an excellent job of bringing the legendary Sherlock Holmes
stories into a modern day setting without detracting from the essence of the original.
It’s likely that many people are familiar with movie and TV versions of Sherlock
Holmes but have never read the original stories. Considering that the screen
portrayals are never totally consistent with the books I feel that reading the original
stories is worthwhile.
Many of the Sherlock Homes stories are short stories which were originally written
for a Penny Dreadful, (a weekly publication of serial literature costing a penny and
common in Victorian England). As such they are quick and easy to read.
An obvious strong point of the books is the use of deductive reasoning in
investigations. In fact as early 1896 the Egyptian Police force were using the stories
as instruction manuals. The FBI also incorporated some of Holmes investigative
techniques into their training.
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Sherlock’s character is complex, his astute powers of observation and brilliant
deductive skills are legendary. Unfortunately, his detective skills do not always
translate to good people skills. In fact, Sherlock often comes up with what initially
seem absurd conclusions only to mock Watson (or whoever else is there) by
revealing obvious clues used to draw those conclusions.
Dr Watson character represents the ‘average’ person and is therefore somewhat
easier to relate to than Sherlock.
One of my favorite Sherlock Holmes novels is Hound of the
Baskervilles. It also happens to be one of the best known of
the Sherlock Homes stories. Interestingly this novel was
written in 1901 after Holmes was killed off at the end of The
Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1892-3). Doyle described the
novel as an ‘earlier’ Holmes adventure when he finally bowed
to public and financial pressure to write Hound of the
Baskervilles. The story was initially serialized in the Strand
magazine before being published as a complete novel.
The Hound of the Baskervilles investigates the mysterious
death of Sir Charles Baskerville. According to legend, Hugo
Baskerville kidnapped a young maiden, and enraged when
she escaped, pursued her across the lonely moors only to fall
victim to a ”hound of hell”. Ever since then the Baskerville
family have been troubled with mysterious deaths and a supernatural black
hound. Has Sir Charles Baskerville just become the latest victim of the curse of the
Baskerville’s?
Sir Charles’s heir is his nephew, Sir Henry Baskerville, who has just arrived in
London from Canada. It appears that his life may now be in danger too.
Sherlock declares he is too busy to accompany Sir Henry to Baskerville Hall and
asks Dr Watson to accompany him. Dr Watson is determined to prove to Sherlock
that he is up to the task and agrees to send regular reports to Sherlock. This leads
to one unusual aspect of the book; it is primarily written in the first person from the
point of view of Dr Watson. Dr Watson’s reports give the reader the opportunity to
discover clues before Holmes has an opportunity to apply his analysis and solve the
case. There is a noticeable difference in writing styles between Dr Watson’s straight
forward style of reporting and the more flamboyant start to the story with the telling of
the legend.
On arrival at Baskerville Hall Sir Henry and Dr Watson discover that there is an
escaped convict hiding in the area. This is a classic red herring plot device.
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Other mysteries soon come to light including; a servant,
John Barrymore, suspiciously wondering around the place
at night, a strange figure on the moors, a noise that sounds
like a dog’s howling and a strange warning from neighbor
Beryl Stapleton.
A number of people are not whom they seem to be. This
includes the faithful servants, Mr and Mrs John Barrymore,
who it turns out are related to the escaped convict.
Then there are the Stapleton’s, who are not the brother and
sister the claim to be. In fact, Jack Stapleton is far from just
the harmless entomologist and former schoolmaster he is
initially portrayed as.
There is a significant element of classist themes throughout the story:The Baskerville
clan have status and money.
Mr Stapleton is a more worthy opponent for Sherlock than the escaped criminal, after
all Stapleton is educated.
Beryl Stapleton provides a romantic interest for Sir Henry; however, Sir Henry can’t
understand why Beryl wouldn’t be delighted to marry him. The represent a sense of
entitlement probably fairly typical of the time for a gentleman of Sir Henry’s standing.
The Baskerville curse started when ancestor Hugo Baskerville ignored the rights of a
woman of a lower class.
It turns out that a mysterious character hiding on the moors is in fact Sherlock
Homes. It’s interesting to see Sherlock Holmes, who is obviously an educated
gentleman of a certain standing within society, living in the same sort of conditions
as a convict.
Holmes due to his social position expects respect and service, this shows in the way
he buys off cab driver early on in the story. The relationship between Sherlock
Holmes and Dr Watson also reflects an element of the class difference, for example
Dr Watson is very eager to please in the reports he writes. Unfortunately, I’m not
sure that Holmes always respects those he perceives as being his social and
intellectual inferiors.
Another theme that runs through the story is the supernatural; can the legend
actually be real? As a detective Sherlock Holmes is always looking for logical
explanations for what has happened, the idea that Sir Charles has been killed by
supernatural being just isn’t a plausible.
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The family curse, complete with pursued maiden and a supernatural hound, the
setting on the moor with it eerie feel and the overall feel of the story is consistent with
elements of the Gothic literature genre.
I have to admit that I love to read books that have strong female characters and this
is lacking in the book. Although, I will give credit to Beryl Stapleton for her attempts
to warn both Sir Henry and Dr Watson. Ultimately, however, Beryl is under the
control of her ‘brother’ Jack Stapleton. The only other female character of
significance is Laura Lyons. However, having married the wrong man, Mrs Lyons
found herself in unfortunate circumstances and was able to be manipulated by Jack
Stapleton.
Given the time in which is this novel is written I can overlook the lack of strong
female characters in this novel. In fairness there is least one strong female in the
Sherlock Holmes universe, Irene Adler. In a Scandal in Bohemia Irene Adler is
smart enough to outwit Holmes.
While I am encouraging people to take the time to read the original book, I do
recommend viewing the BBC’s Sherlock version of Hound of the Baskervilles
(Season 2, episode 2). There are a number of differences between the BBC
Sherlock version and the book. Given that the entire premise of the Sherlock BBC
series was to set Homes in a contemporary setting the story was always going to be
the case. However, I have to admit that I really liked the action that takes place at
the Military base, the use of hallucinogenic gas and let’s not forget poor Bluebell the
Rabbit that glowed in the dark.
I admit that I initially wondered how readable the original Sherlock Holmes novels
would be, after all they were written over a hundred years. However, I found Doyle’s
work to be very readable. In the Hound of the Baskervilles there are some excellent
plot twists and great use of language that provokes a very sinister feel.
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Millennium trilogy by Stieg Larsson
The Trilogy consists of three books:



“The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo”, (2005)
“The Girl Who Played With Fire” (2006)
“The Girl who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest” (2007)
The Millennium trilogy, sometimes called The Girl with
the Dragon Tattoo Trilogy, is one of my favorite
crime/mystery series. I really enjoyed reading it and I’m
not alone.
The series has sold over 80 million copies in over fifty
countries and in multiple languages. Each book has
also been turned into a major movie. Unfortunately,
Stieg Larsson (1954-2004) never lived to see the huge
success of his Millennium trilogy.
The Trilogy is set in Sweden and introduces two key characters journalist Mikael
Blomkvist and researcher Lisbeth Salander.
A key component of the success of the trilogy is the unique character of Lisbeth
Salander. Lisbeth is a brilliant computer hacker, which combined with a
photographic memory would be enough to make her different. However, add in a
mysterious past which includes periods in psychiatric institutions as a child and the
character becomes even more interesting.
I believe Stieg deliberately leaves the diagnoses of Lisbeth’s mental health issues
ambiguous as it serves as a useful plot device. However, it is suggested that she is
somewhere on the Autism Spectrum or Asperger’s Syndrome. Given Lisbeth’s past
it is also likely that she has PTSD.
Lisbeth has been subjected to abuse of various forms for most of her life. As a result
she has developed her own sense of morals and her own unique coping strategies to
deal with life. Lisbeth’s ability to survive what life has thrown at her speaks to an
inner strength.
Mikael Blomkvist is an investigative journalist who is prepared to take risks for what
he believes in and to see the truth exposed. Mikael is one of the co-owners of
Millennium Magazine (hence the name of the trilogy) along with Erika Berger. Mikael
and Erika have a somewhat unorthodox relationship which adds another dimension
to their characters.
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Mikael hires Lisbeth to help him with some research and as Mikael gets to know
Lisbeth and a complex relationship develops.
Much of the first book, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, deals with the mystery of
the disappearance of Harriet Vanger some 44 years ago. The Vanger family are
powerful, wealthy and have a history of power struggles and secrets. They also have
a reputation to protect as the owner of the renowned Vanger Corporation.
Somebody does not want Mikael to solve the mystery and is prepared to use any
mean necessary to ensure that the past stays buried.
The second book in the Millennium Trilogy, The Girl Who Played With Fire features
Lisabeth more prominently and more of her past is revealed. Lisbeth is accused of
multiple murders and there is damning circumstantial evidence. Mikael knew two of
the murder victims, a young couple investigating the sex trafficking industry and was
working with them to publish an expose in Millennium magazine. Lisbeth’s past and
present collide as the truth behind the murders is revealed. The novel finishes on a
real cliff hanger.
The final book in the Trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest, focuses on
Lisbeth’s fight to prove her innocence of the attempted murder charges and gain her
freedom. This is no easy task when your being kept locked up and recovering from
multiple bullet wounds. Behind the scenes there are powerful forces within the state
security police (Säpo) that are determined to use their influence to ensure Lisbeth is
convicted. Lisbeth must be stopped from exposing the secrets and corruption at the
heart of Säpo.
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Lisbeth is helped by Mikael Blomkvist and his team at Millennium Magazine. Mikael’s
sister, Annika Giannini, agrees to act Lisbeth’s lawyer and sets out to ensure justice
is done.
I really like that Larsson has created several really strong, intelligent female
characters that play key roles in the trilogy. This includes not only Lisbeth, but
Millennium Magazine co-owner Erika Berger who has built a very successful career
as an Editor and part-owner of a very successful Magazine. On the board of
Millennium Magazine is successful business women Harriet Vanger who has an
interesting and somewhat dark past. Then there is Lisbeth’s lawyer, Annika Giannini,
who proves she can get the better of some very powerful men.
Larsson does tackle some series issues in the series. Violence against women is a
central theme throughout the series, women are shown both as victims and
importantly as survivors. The sex trafficking industry also features.
There was the beginning of a storyline involving racism and a Nazi threat. This
storyline is never fully developed, which is a real shame as it could have been really
interesting and been used to make anti-racism statement.
Overall the books are well written, although somewhat long at approximately 500
pages. Had the books not been published after Larsson’s passing there may have
been scope to do a slightly tighter edit.
These are not books that can be read in one sitting, but I found the complex plots
and characters absorbing.
Ten years after the first novel in the Millennium Trilogy novel, ‘finally a new novel
featuring Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist is available. “The Girl in the
Spider’s Web”, written by David Layercrtand and launched in August 2015.
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The ‘In Death’ by J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts)
Nora Roberts has been described as one of America’s bestselling and most prolific
authors. She consistently features on the New York Times Best Seller List.
Under her pen name of J.D. Robb she has been
entertaining readers with the In Death series for over twenty
years.
If you are new to Robb’s work then you’re about to discover
a great Detective series set circa 2060 in an interesting
futuristic world. The series two main characters are
Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her billionaire husband Roarke.
Judging from the popularity of the series, Eve must be one
of the most beloved female Detectives in fiction history.
Starting with Naked in Death each book focuses on a
different murder case. As the series has continued Robb
has further developed the key characters, sharing more of
their life story.
If you like strong female characters then Eve certainly
qualifies. During the series we discover Eve’s tragic past as a victim of severe
abuse from her Father. At the age of eight Eve was forced to kill her Father in selfdefence. To survive her past and to go on to become a functioning human being is
no small achievement.
Eve’s past had lead to her desire to help others and driven her to become an
outstanding Lieutenant in the NYPSD (New York Police and Security Department).
During the series we watch Eve grow and overcome her past.
The relationship between Eve and Roarke is an interesting one. The Police
Detective and the former Criminal, turned Entrepreneur, at first do not seem like an
obvious match. However, these two prove they are made for each other! Eve may
have some occasional difficulties dealing with the expectations put on the wife of a
billionaire and understanding what she refers to as the “marriage rules”, but this adds
to the charm. It's obvious Eve couldn’t care less about the trappings of being
wealthy. Eve does however have to reconcile herself with Roarke’s somewhat shady
past.
One of the reasons the relationship between Eve and Roarke works so well is that
they both have difficult pasts but have been driven to make something of themselves
despite it. You have to admire a man who goes from being a pickpocket in Ireland to
an extremely successful business. Somehow, despite juggling the demand of a
huge business empire, Roarke manages to spend a lot of time assisting Eve with her
investigations.
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Robb has built a fantastic cast of supporting characters, many of whom have
become an important part of Eve and Roarke’s life, forming an extended family of
sorts.
An important character in the series is Detective Delia Peabody, who is Eve’s
partner. One thing Eve and Peabody have in common is that they are both very
intelligent. In contrast to Eve, Peabody has a softer and more sensitive personality
and this counterbalances Eve’s harsher and blunter side. Peabody’s background
couldn’t be more different from Eve’s. Peabody has a close family and happy
childhood memories. Peabody’s has progressed in her career throughout the series
becoming a Detective e 3rd Grade at the end of Imitation in Death.
Detective Ian McNabb from the EDD (Electronics
Detection Division) provides technical support on many
of the cases. McNabb stands out for his flashy dressing
and his romantic relationship with Peabody
Dr. Charlotte Mira provides counseling support and is a
first rate criminal profiler. She has played a large role in
helping Eve overcome her past and is somewhat of a
Mother figure to Dallas.
The closest thing to a Father figure that Eve has is
Captain Feeney. Feeney saw the potential in Eve and
helped train and mentor her. Feeney is the Head of
Electronic Detective Division and is always willing to
assist Eve with her investigations.
Like Eve, Roarke does not have a traditional family.
However, Roarke does have a Father figure in the form of Summerset. While
Summerset now works for Roarke as his Butler they have a long history together and
are more like family than employer and employee. Eve does not always have an
easy relationship with Summerset. In fact both of them take pleasure in sniping at
each other. I love the humor in the banter between Eve and Summerset. While
dealing with the unpleasant topic of murder the humor provides a nice touch.
Nadine is another strong female character. Nadine is a successful reporter and
author who has managed to form a friendship with Eve. Eve trusts Nadine enough to
give her tip-offs in advance of the rest of the media.
One minor recurring character that provides some comic relief is the Candy thief.
The true identity of the Candy thief has yet to revealed. Eve’s is constantly battling
to find new hiding places for her candy stash and get very annoyed when it keeps
going missing.
In more recent novels we see a more vulnerable side of Eve as she works to protect
those that she loves. For Eve, and readers who have followed the series, it
becomes apparent just how much Eve’s life has changed.
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Robb has taken the time to describe the future in a way that doesn’t seem too
unrealistic. One example is that you seal up using Seal It, a canned liquid, in place
of using gloves to avoid destroying forensic evidence at crime scenes. Some of the
language has changed with the times as well; we no longer have watches but wrist
units that have both communication and data capability. Pain medicine is called a
Blocker, which Eve’s hates taking. In fact, there is an article devoted to
Understanding Eve Dallas’s Lingo on the J.D Robb website,
http://www.jdrobb.com/glossary/
Each novel is the series is a self-contained story, so it not essential to read the
novels in the order they were written. However, understanding Eve’s history will
help you understand how dramatic the changes are later in the series. There are a
few links to previous cases mentioned in the books which are nice to see and should
not cause an issue for those new to the series.
The writing is typically easy to read. If time permits I have been known to read an
entire book in one sitting.
I for one am looking forward to future adventures of Eve and Roarke. Check
http://mysterybookdetective.com/books/ for reviews of the latest In Death series
books.
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Conclusion
I hope you’ve enjoyed our journey through time reading about three very different
series of mystery/crime books. Not only are these series set in different time
periods, they naturally have distinctly different writing styles, characters and themes.
The Sherlock Holmes series is still very readable for a modern audience, despite
being written over 100 years ago. The elements of Sherlock character that stand out
to me are his amazing deductive reasoning and observation skills that.
The Sherlock Homes stories are mainly short stories so there is less scope for
character development, although there are recurring characters and some continuity
between the different stories. I think the shorter Sherlock Holmes stories are great in
these busy times if you want something short and quick to read.
In contrast to Sherlock Holmes, both the Millennium Trilogy and the In Death series
have stories spread over multiple books which allows for far greater character
development. Indeed, one of the things that attracted me to the In Death series is
the ability to see how the various characters grow and develop. It’s a bit like catching
up with old friends and this interests me as much, maybe even more, than the details
of the actual murder case.
An obvious difference between the Sherlock stories and the more modern
Millennium Trilogy and In Death series is the role of the female characters. The
place of women in society has changed significantly in the last 100 or so years, so it
makes sense that modern female literary characters reflect those changes. Literary
characters such as Lisbeth Salander and Eve Dallas would have been unimaginable
in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle time. In fact the female characters in The Hound of the
Baskervilles, appear to be relatively weak with Beryl Stapleton being controlled by
her ‘brother’ and Mrs Lyons in need of help. In comparison both the Millennium
Trilogy and In Death series feature strong female leads that have overcome
extremely difficult pasts to become survivors instead of victims.
The aspects of classism shown in The Hound of the Baskervilles reflects the society
of the time and is perhaps less prevalent in modern literature. The modern
equivalent is shown in the Millenium Trilogy with the corruption evident in Säpo.
Sherlock and The Millennium Trilogy have both been made into really good screen
adaptations. I would love to see the In Death series made into either a film or a
television series.
I believe that good writing will stand the test of time. To me this means great
characters, interesting plots and enough action and suspense so that I feel I don’t
want to put the book down.
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