A Stranger from the Storm by William Burton McCormick

 

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You can buy Stranger from the Storm...Here

You can find out more about William Burton McCormick...Here

The Blurb...

The year is 1900. The port city of Odessa on the Black Sea is being terrorized by a brutal killer called the Specter. With five people already dead, the murderer promises more.

One family, the Karadopoulinas, run a boarding house. Sisters Tasia and Eleni feel certain the killer is a scarred, shambling Londoner who took lodging with them one night during a thunderstorm. Furtive and threatening, Henry Humble, stalks Odessa’s labyrinth of interlocking courtyards and foggy docks at night, armed with weapons and skeleton keys.

As the body count rises, so do the questions...
Who is the mysterious figure haunting the catacombs below the streets of Odessa?
Why won’t Eleni’s police constable sweetheart investigate?
Who will be the next to die?

A Victorian-style murder mystery with elements of horror, adventure, and Hitchcockian black humor. "

My Review...

A Stranger from the Storm is a novella, that is easy and quick to read. It is unusual in its setting. I haven't read many books set in Eastern Europe and none set in Odessa in 1900, so that was an enjoyable first. The American author clearly knows his way around Europe.

The plot centres around twins Eleni and Anastasia who live and work in their impoverished widowed, mother's boarding house. One night during a terrible storm a strange and mysterious man comes to stay. At the same time there is an ongoing spate of child murders in the city. Are the two connected? Eleni and Anastasia get drawn in to the sinister riddle.

False trails and red herrings abound and the plot takes a left turn mid way. The main characters all change to a greater or lesser extent throughout the book, which is far more interesting than a plethora of stable straight line characters

There is a wicked sense of humour in this enjoyable slightly macabre tale which contrast nicely along side the mist shrouded docks and impending sense of threat hanging in the air.

There is a slight whiff of Fritz Lang's "M" with Peter Lorre, Conan Doyle's Victorian era stories, Edgar Allan Poe's "Murders in the Rue Morgue" and most intriguingly the Coen brothers Fargo

A Beautifully balanced slightly creepy unusual tale in an unusual setting in an unusual era. 

Selected Quotes...

"Well, if you learned the English language from Welsh miners it's a miracle you can speak a word."

"He's got a hideous scar, Mama," whispered Eleni. Mother arranged her drenched hair, peering into the looking glass perched on the bookshelf. "Eleni, it's not the body that matters but the soul." "Well, his soul better be pretty good."

"He's so much sweeter to Mother, isn't he?" "Maybe he fancies her. What kind of name is 'Henry?'" "One of their kings." "What'd he do?" "Killed all his wives."

"Play the music, Tasia, not simply the notes."

He glanced out the window. "Well, we shouldn't feel too safe and cozy. An unsettled mind may seek new challenges, don't you think?" "That's why we bolt the doors, Mister…" "Mr. Henry Humble, at your service."

About the Author

William Burton McCormick was born in Maryland and raised in Nevada. He has lived in seven countries including Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia and Russia solely for the purpose of writing.

William graduated from Brown University with degrees in Ancient Studies and Computer Science and earned an MA in Novel Writing from the University of Manchester. He has won awards in the production of entertainment and educational software, co-owned a company to reduce junk e-mail, and worked as an executive recruiter in the Washington D.C. area.

He was elected a Hawthornden Fellow in 2013.

William's fiction has appeared in "The Saturday Evening Post," "Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine," "Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine," "Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine," and "Over My Dead Body!" He is a Shamus, Derringer and Claymore awards finalist and member of Mystery Writers of America, the Crime Writers Association and International Thriller Writers.

Astrid & The Girl in the Tangerine Dress by Alan Roderick

 

You can buy Astrid & The Girl in the Tangerine Dress...Here

The Blurb...

Ace Welsh Private Investigator Astrid Price is up to her neck in murder and mayhem and facing a series of seemingly unsolvable problems. Who is the elusive Girl in the Tangerine Dress and why has she disappeared? Where is the missing first ever recording of the Welsh National Anthem? And why are so many people being knifed to death?

As the sun beats down relentlessly and the Welsh Republic prepares to vote in a new government, amidst increasing tensions with England and Ireland, Astrid pounds the mean streets of the twin cities of Casnewydd and Maendy in search of answers.

In her quest for truth and justice, she encounters ‘bent coppers’, is threatened, abducted, violently attacked and survives attempts to frame herself, and her best friend and closest confidant for murder, whilst trying to decide what is the role of the Casnewydd Super Dragons in all this and last, but certainly not least, what exactly are her feelings towards the new man in her life.

The text is enhanced with eighteen of Ella J Wilding’s charming black and white drawings.

My Review...

Astrid and The Girl in the Tangerine Dress is a cosy crime set in an alternative and independent Wales.  The characters are vibrant and interesting. I feel the particular strength of the book is it's ingenious setting. The Republic of Wales is newly independent with it's own currency (the Glyndwyr) and armed forces (the Llewellyn the Last regiment being the equivalent of the SAS.) But all is not well in the new Republic  and tensions are rising with both the English and the Irish. There is a terrorist threat in "The Hammers of Edward," who want to reunite with England. That is a nice mirror image of Meibion Glyndwr.

However I feel the strength of the book maybe a also be a slight weakness. While I am a proud Welshman and man of Gwent, the Welsh references are, if anything, too numerous and may discourage a reader not familiar with the area or culture. I feel the pudding may have been over-egged or perhaps I should say there is too much halen in the cawl.

 

I like that the author draws inspiration from literature in a subtle way. The title seems similar to a Stieg Larrson novel and the plot is very similar to a famous Sherlock Holmes short story. No it's not the one with big dog.

I found the opening few paragraphs intriguing and a very good hook. The knock about comedy was enjoyable and the illustrations were an added bonus. I feel the book lends itself to a younger audience. 

As an aside, when the author switched tack from cosy crime and was in descriptive mode (e.g. opening few paragraphs of Chapter 17) I thought he was very good and couldn't help thinking what the author could do with a serious, alternate history/future  book, similar to Fatherland by Robert Harris, but set in the Republic of Wales.

A fascinating and funny look into the near future in Wales. Fans of Boyd Clack and  Satellite City will love it.

Selected Quotes...

"I had long since ceased trying to count them. Hills with names like Bryn Derwyn, Bryrn Terfel, Brynhyfryd and Bryn Meredith."

"The latest move by Mary Hopkin, our new president, was proving to be a bone of contention with many people. Basically, it meant that all 'slave names' as she insisted on calling them: Wales, Newport, Swansea etc. were effectively outlawed and banned from official usage,"

"Talk about money for old rope, this was going to be easy; I could feel in my Brecon Careg bottled water,"

"..She was wearing a tangerine dress when I saw her...

    Bloody Blackpool supporters,"

About the Author...

Born Newport, Gwent. Educated St Mary’s Primary School, Duffryn High School. Studied French and German, Bradford University, 1965 to 1969, graduating with a Joint Honours Degree in Modern Languages.

Worked at BBC Monitoring Service in Reading. Taught English in the 1970s in Remscheid (where I met librarian Božena Roš) and Ansbach, West Germany.

In 1975, completed Teaching English as a Second Language Certificate at the University College of North Wales, Bangor. Married Božena Roš in Bangor, June 14th, 1975.

Taught German, Bryn Hafren School for Girls in Barry and French and German at Caldicot Comprehensive School.

1980 won the Local History Competition organised by the Gwent Local History Society and the South Wales Argus with my History of the Welsh Language in Gwent.

Articles published in numerous publications. Written/edited fourteen non-fiction books.

Fiction: Astrid Investigates, Astrid and the Golden Lovespoons, Astrid and the Girl in the Tangerine Dress.

Finalist in the John Tripp Spoken Poetry Competition, 2004 and 2011. Read poetry in Newport, Bargoed, Bristol, Merthyr Tydfil, Neath, Penarth, Cardiff, Swansea.

Since November, 2013, organised monthly poetry nights at Newport’s Murenger House. Chairman of The Cwtsh Arts Centre in Stow Hill, Newport.

2020, published: Selected Poems, 1978-2015; Twelve Days In Intensive Care, October 21st to November 1st, 2010, A Poetic Record; After You’d Gone, Poems 2016 - 2020. Edited Božena’s Book, a collection of my wife’s writings and artwork.