Science Fiction, Fantasy , Horror & Other Genre Fiction
THE FIRST THREE BEN REESE MYSTERIES
by Sally S. Wright
I have to admit I am quite old-fashioned in my tastes when it comes to Mystery fiction. Doyle, Christie, Chesterton, Carr, Hammett, Chandler, Fredric Brown, Cornell Woolrich, etc. It is rare I find a new writer who appeals to this specific reading need. Sally S. Wright is such a writer. Compared to Dorothy L. Sayer, Wright has the same collegial setting, the same cozy Mystery approach. And this is a hard thing to pull off these days. Dead vicars in English gardens is pretty dated. Wright has the same feel without the same dressing. Here are her first three of six Ben Reese mysteries...
PUBLISH AND PERISH (1997) introduces Ben Reese, archivist of Alderton University in Ohio, and former military intelligence officer. When Ben's good friend, Head of the English department, Richard West, dies under suspicious circumstances, Ben digs through West's life looking for clues. Another professor dies (or is killed) and finally Ben himself is attacked. Surviving a terrible car crash and a deadly blizzard, Reese knows who the killer is and brings things to a final solution. This novel has a nice blend of academia, Christian belief and historical fun.
PRIDE AND PREDATOR (1997) is a very different book than the first, PRIDE AND PREDATOR takes place on two beautiful Scottish estates and the remote Holy island. Ben Reese investigates the suspicious death of Jon, a well-liked minister. Allergic to bee-stings, the man is killed by bees hidden in a picnic hamper. Ben is attacked himself later when a towel rod is electrified in his shower. One hundred pages longer than Publish & Perish, this novel has a much older feel, more traditional like a Dorothy L. Sayer's novel. There is only one good action part, at the end when Ben faces the killer. Another enjoyable read by Wright.
PURSUIT AND PERSUASION (2000) is like her second book, a more traditional-style Mystery set in Scotland. Shortly after the events of the previous novel, Reese is drawn into the unusual death of Oxford Professor Georgina Fletcher. Death by Vomiting is the doctor's only declaration and Reese much wade into her life of Oxford academia, tire manufacturing as well as an assortment of stranger inhabitants that live on her estate. Underneath it all is the history oft strange books, two that reveal that Georgina's ancestors stole the family fortune from another family as well as rare books sought by collectors.
The next three to follow...
