Barry Maitland

This was quite an engrossing read, although I had to break off a couple of times for a rest out of exasperation at Kathy putting herself into danger for the billionth time (just in this one novel). The plot was far-fetched (as is standard), but this was coupled with a sort of siege mentality where Kathy and Brock were deprived of all autonomy by the officers above them. It was like reading about people being bullied into colluding in their own destruction.

I always look forward to reading a Brock and Kolla mystery; Barry Maitland always has a well thought out plot with many twists and turns. By now, I’m familiar with the two main characters (DCI David Brock and DI Kathy Kolla) but the new characters are always a treat to read. Dark Mirror is no exception. Maitland has created some great characters – from the murdered Miriam, whose life we learn about after her death to the suspects in her murder, such as her university lecturer. Maitland show more also creates a more unusual form of murder than your standard ‘in the library with a dagger’ – this time the murder is in the library (the London Library to be exact) but Miriam is poisoned by arsenic. Who did it? Was it the fellow library goer who took surreptitious pictures of her with his phone, her lover or her lecturer, who she was planning to expose?

You may think that the plot and the suspects is starting to sound a bit convoluted, but Maitland is an expert at not confusing the reader, but not dumbing it down either. Each character is painted with so much attention to detail that you won’t forget them. This is true of Brock and Kolla’s colleagues in the police force too. I find that some detective series suffer from ‘faceless’ sidekicks- those who have no defining features to retain them in your mind – but this isn’t so in this series. From the junior staff to the forensics, each new and recurring character is memorable, whether it be for their never-ending eagerness or intimate knowledge of arsenic poisoning.

Maitland’s books are always a page turner and Dark Mirror is no exception. This is a mystery on a higher plane than others in the genre. It’s detailed and beautifully styled. I’m looking forward to reading the latest book in the series, Chelsea Mansions, soon.

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With any long term series, it's not surprising to see an author rejigging the relationships just a little, bringing in new perspectives or adjusting the expectations. CHELSEA MANSIONS is the ninth Brock and Kolla book from Barry Maitland, and in the last book there were hints that there is a little viewpoint modification going on. It's always particularly interesting to watch how various authors move their long-term characters in and out of the limelight, particularly when you have an show more inherent seniority built in, as you have in a police pairing. Maitland seems be carefully repositioning Kathy Kolla - pulling her more to the centre and he's doing it cleverly. Brock isn't sidelined, more ... shall we say ... distracted. And in CHELSEA MANSIONS he's extremely distracted. In fact a sudden and very dramatic health crisis means he's completely distracted by the real prospect that he may not survive.

Kolla is under pressure, not just because she's worried about Brock, but also because there's something very odd going on with her current investigation. The reason why somebody would actually pick up and throw an elderly American tourist under a bus in Chelsea is completely elusive. The connection between the brutal death of Nancy Haynes and that of a Russian oligarch living in the same building as the hotel that Nancy and her companion are staying in equally elusive. As is the reason that Nancy was so insistent about staying at this particular, quirky and not particularly upmarket hotel in the first place. To say nothing of the young Canadian man hanging around the same hotel.

One of the quirks of Maitland's books is the settings that he uses for the main component of the action in his books. In this case, this small square, with it's row of houses - part of which is the hotel, the rest of which has been progressively turned into a massive townhouse by our Russian victim Mikhail Moszynski. Not just a setting, this area because an intricate part of the plot itself as is often the way. As is also often the way Kolla's investigation is characterised by her dogged determination. Brock's part in the investigation is more thoughtful, cerebral, intuitive. Along the way there's some nice touches of the personal, and there's a bit of professional skullduggery just to make everyone's lives more complicated than they need to be.

Whilst it's undoubtedly partially that feeling of getting back in touch with old friends that always makes the arrival of a new Brock and Kolla book a satisfying experience, in the last few entries in this series, there's that sense of rejigging, just a gentle little jostling of positions to add a little spark. But at the end of the day, the best part about CHELSEA MANSIONS is that it IS a new Brock & Kolla novel, and it's a very good entry in which is really an extremely solid and keenly anticipated series. show less

My wonderful Goodreads friend from Down Under, Magda, never leads me wrong! She recommended an entire list of Australian writers, and Fergus Hume's The Mystery of a Hansom Cab proved to be excellent.

Well, that was not a fluke. Another of Magda's recommendations, the Kolla and Brock mystery series, really excels! How good? I was reading this London-based police procedural while I ran computer diagnostics, and I came home late from work because I literally couldn't put it down until I'd gotten show more to the very last page -- long after I'd done with work! Written by the Scottish-born Barry Maitland, who has resided in Australia for decades, The Marx Sisters follows an investigation that pairs up-and-coming CID Detective Sergeant Kathy Kolla with a Scotland Yard old hand, David Brock. Despite red herrings galore, Maitland plays fair with readers who, nevertheless, will remain unlikely to puzzle out the identity of the murderer of a 70-something-year-old widow, Meredith Winterbottom, who is battling to remain in the apartment building at 22 Jerusalem Lane where she and her two sisters reside. Suspects range from the developers who are dead set on clearing Jerusalem Lane to Meredith's neighbors (who were less than thrilled with the neighborhood's overbearing resident do-gooder and busybody) to Meredith's own unscrupulous son. Maitland creates memorable dialogue and some wonderful plot twists. No sooner are you certain that you've figured out the murder than another culprit seems inevitable. The suspense builds and builds right to the last few pages.

I've already ordered the next three books in the series -- The Malcontenta, All My Enemies and The Chalon Heads. My only regret? That I didn't order them in time so that I could begin The Malcontenta as soon as I finished The Marx Sisters. show less