Sixty seconds with Maureen Jennings...
Maureen Jennings is best known for the Detective Murdoch series, which have been adapted to television for an unprecedented eighteen seasons. In 2011, she was awarded the Grant Allen Award for contribution to her genre. She has been nominated eight times for awards from the Crime Writers of Canada. In 2024, she received the Crime Writers of Canada Grand Master Award. She was born in the UK and now lives in Toronto with her husband, photographer Iden Ford, and her dog, Murdoch.
RTE: Describe yourself in a sentence?
Jennings: Born and bred in England; shaped by works of Shakespeare and the Girl Guides
RTE: What's the one record you'd take to a desert island?
Jennings: Collected songs of Glen Campbell
RTE: What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Jennings: A veterinarian.
Sixty seconds with Rosalie M. Lin...
Sixty seconds with Dervla McTiernan...
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September 29 2024
We appear to be in a very edgy state of late, with disturbing news from abroad, frightening weather at home, and a general uneasiness overall. Happily, some things have not changed, It is still early Fall, the leaves are turning, and a sweater at night might come in handy. Another seasonal marker – the newly published books on offer are often just the ones we've been waiting to read or sound very much like them. Here's what we did read for September.
It has been five years since Jackson Brodie last appeared and some had despaired of seeing him again, but Kate Atkinson has been at work and brings her detective back in DEATH AT THE SIGN OF THE ROOK. He is investigating a series of art thefts, one of which leads him back to a declining stately home. This not really a homage to Agatha Christie made me laugh out loud more than once and often left me amazed at the brilliance of the prose and the inventiveness of the plotting.
The next three books are emblematic of the relatively recent attention being paid to the crimes long committed against Indigenous people, especially women. All three were written by Native Americans and all three authors are women. Ramona Emerson's EXPOSURE is the second novel by a Diné writer who is also a filmmaker. Barbara Fister says that though it employs familiar thriller tropes it is far more original in its language and in its view of the intersection of Navajo tradition and contemporary life. Sharon Mensing reviewed another book by Indigenous women. THE BERRY PICKERS, by Nova Scotian Amanda Peters, member of the Glooscap First Nation, is a debut, and Sharon found it a beautifully written story about a child who goes missing. Barbara also praises another cross border, missing woman thriller, WHERE THEY LAST SAW HER, by Marcie R. Rendon, a Minnesota Chippewa, especially for the skill with which the author uses the genre to challenge the status quo.
Kwei Quartey in THE WHITEWASHED TOMBS also employs the genre to call attention to a social danger, the situation of gay Ghanaians who are the object of a campaign of hatred being waged by American evangelical missionaries against homosexuality. Barbara Fister says that in addition to its message, it is a compelling mystery.
There are a couple of historical mysteries in the mix this month. Meredith Frazier much enjoyed the latest Lady Emily mystery DEATH BY MISADVENTURE, by Tasha Alexander, which continues the device of introducing actual historical mysteries into a fictional early 20th century present. This time, it's the unsolved murder of King Ludwig that's at issue. Maureen Jennings, whose police detective William Murdoch has had a long career on Canadian TV, has just released MARCH ROARS, the fourth in her Paradise Café series set in Toronto in the 1930s. I liked the general spirit of this entry, which was hopeful without resorting to an unconvincing happy ending.
THE AXEMAN'S CARNIVAL, by Catherine Chidgey was published a couple of years ago in its author's native New Zealand and has finally made its way here. It struck me as an inventive and unpredictable novel (well, it is narrated in the first person by a pet magpie), one that causes me to wonder why it has taken so long to arrive in North America.
When a reviewer begins by saying "I have been looking forward to writing this review," the reader is not certain what to expect – praise or revenge? Happily, when Cathy Downs began her review of Snowden Wright's THE QUEEN CITY DETECTIVE AGENCY with these words, it was praise that followed. Writing about the South is not as easy as it might appear. As Cathy remarks, "the omniscient narrator both disparages the Deep South in terms that are so catty they practically meow, yet loves the place and genuinely wishes it better. THE QUEEN CITY DETECTIVE AGENCY, because of the Black-White relations written into the private investigator characters, and because of our own deeply held prejudices and stereotypes, makes us both think and laugh." There's much more in the review so read it when you can.
Nev Fountain's THE FAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH is also very funny, but this time in a British sort of way. A send-up of fan culture, Rebecca Nesvet reports that underneath it all, the author is very fond of the fans themselves.
Ruth Castleberry was pleased to find that the latest entry in J.D. Robb's In Death series, PASSIONS IN DEATH, extends the depth and originality of the series and recommends it unreservedly.
Rebecca finds quite a lot to like in James Lovegrove's SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE HIGHGATE HORRORS, even if does draw upon a broad mix of sources – part Holmes, part Frankenstein, and part Lovecraftian horror. As she says, if you like this sort of melange, "THE HIGHGATE HORRORS will prove a smart but never pretentious, entertaining romp."
Donna Leon's A REFINER'S FIRE is the thirty-eighth in her Guido Brunetti series. On finishing the novel, Cathy is not altogether sure that it satisfactorily answers the questions it poses. William Kent Krueger's SPIRIT CROSSING is the twentieth in his Cork O'Connor series and Sharon found it disappointing. She says that if you have not read any of this series it is not the place to start.
Finally, just one cozy this time – FUREVER AFTER, by Sofie Kelly. This has magical cats, not so magical cats, and the run-up to a wedding. Ruth concludes that it all works together very nicely.
Maureen Jennings is our guest this time in our 60 Seconds With...spot. Remember to check out what the creator of William Murdoch has to say.
We'll be back again at the end of October, if the Halloween ghosts don't get us and we survive bobbing for apples. We hope you'll come back too.
Please drop us a line if you have a moment. We love to hear from you.
The Editors:
Yvonne Klein
ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com
Rebecca Nesvet
nesvetr@uwgb.edu
P.S. If you wish to submit a book for review, please check here before contacting us. Please note that we do not review self-published books.
Our mascot and masthead is Smokey the Cat. Smokey the cat went to the great playground in the sky on April 29, 2008, at 3:30 p.m. He was about 13 years old, had diabetes and only 11 teeth left. He is much happier now. He will remain as our masthead and mascot.
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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