MADreads

From Berlin to Arthurian Britain

October 10th, 2009 Kathy K. - Central

If you like historical mysteries, I have two to recommend.  The first, A Trace of Smoke by Rebecca Cantrell, is set in 1931 Berlin, Germany.   Hannah Vogel is a single woman in a man’s world.   She is a journalist for the Berliner Tageblatt and writes under a pseudonym.  Crime is her beat.   The mystery begins when Hannah gets the shock of her life while following leads at the police station.  There in black and white she recognizes the identity of one of the photographs in the Hall of the Unnamed Dead.  The nude dead man on the river bank is her beloved brother, Ernst, a gay transvestite cabaret singer.   But she can’t tell anyone because her and her brother’s identity papers are being used to help Jewish friends escape Germany.   So she decides to investigate on her own.

As she digs into her brother’s life Hannah discovers that Ernst was involved with some pretty powerful and decadent Nazis.   As the investigation proceeds she must walk a fine line if she wants to stay alive and protect those close to her.  This bittersweet mystery gives us a look into the life of an ordinary German trying to navigate the dangerous times as the Nazis were coming to power.

My second recommendation is set in fifth century Britain.  It has Arthur, Merlin, Guinevere, and introduces the one-armed man, Malgwyn.  In The Killing Way by Tony Hays, Malgwyn is asked by a young Lord Arthur to investigate the brutal death of a young woman - who just happens to be Malgwyn’s sister-in-law.  Since he lost his arm in battle and his wife to a brutal death by the Saxons, Malgwyn has been drowning his sorrows in alcohol.  Despite that fact he cannot resist Arthur’s request for help.  Soon enough the investigation has him off the bottle and using his detective skills to find out who killed the young girl.  In saving the accused Merlin, finding justice for the young woman and helping Arthur defeat those who would challenge his ascension to the throne Malgwyn once again begins to feel like he has a purpose and a life.  I enjoyed watching Malgwyn change from an angry, old drunk to a sober, brave detective.  I hope to read more of his adventures.

Entry Filed under: Historical Fiction, Mystery