Larceny, mystery, and murder abound in these novels, both in a literal and metaphorical sense. They know how to be thought-provoking and offer social commentary, while being entertaining.
"Yellowface" by R. F. Kuang
This latest novel from the celebrated author of Babel sees Kuang moving away from historical fantasy to something more personal and related to the art of writing and getting your work published. At the same time, being Kuang, there’s a morality play being churned out that touches on ethics, creative honesty, the pervasive influence of social media, and what being a "celebrated author" can be like. The two main characters are Athena Liu, a young writer whose work has been critically praised and widely bought, and fellow Yalie and sometime friend, June Hayward, the aspiring authoress who has been stuck in ‘aspiring’ for longer than is comfortable — whose one published work languishes in the discount bins.
The plot is propelled by an evening that June spends with Athena in her swanky DC apartment. Athena ends up fatally choking on something she ate. A manuscript of Athena’s just-completed work lies on her work table, a novel about the Chinese soldiers conscripted in World War I and treated horribly. June makes the fateful decision to "steal" the pages of "The Last Front." Editing the manuscript and submitting it under her name, Juniper Song, brings June into a world she only dreamt of. But there is a price to pay for being a white girl telling an ethnic story. Cultural appropriation rears its ugly head, and the extent that people will resort to in order to stay relevant on social media, are all put under the microscope in this novel.
"Central Park West" by James Comey
As a former Director of the FBI and a NYC prosecutor, you know that Comey isn’t just doing research, or falling back on his creative imagination and storytelling prowess, to come up with this novel. He’s written well-received nonfiction books, so this debut novel must be something he’s been itching to talk about and expose, without naming names and keeping it all protected under the guise of fiction. He makes Nora Carleton, an up-and-coming Manhattan prosecutor, be his main protagonist. She’s about to put away a mobster, when the offer comes down that in exchange for the dropping of charges, said mobster is ready to disclose vital information about the recent murder of disgraced NY Governor Burke, who was killed in his "secure" penthouse.
Nora Carleton is our guide to the realistic court scenarios and backroom dealing that form part of Comey's story. Kyra Burke, Tony's second wife, from whom he was separated, is on trial for the murder of the former governor. It falls to Nora, her Irish cop coworker Benny, and FBI operative Jessica, to pool their resources and get to the bottom of who killed Governor Burke, and how and why. Both a fascinating procedural and a courtroom drama, there is much to like about this novel, and how it rings with authenticity. The characters are vividly drawn, and Benny is an immediate favorite. I wouldn't be surprised if spin-off novels highlighting his past and future exploits were in the cards, to create a "Comey universe."
"Death of a Bookseller" by Alice Slater
The current and worldwide obsession with true crime podcasts is a major element of this novel, which examines the often erratic behavior of the fans and followers of these podcasts. Roach is a bookseller who considers herself a true fan. She is crazy competitive and seeks friendship and validation in strange and disturbing ways. Laura comes into the picture when she is assigned to the store where Roach works to improve operations. The fact that Laura is the daughter of a serial killer victim from the very town they both live in becomes a point of morbid fascination for Roach. Pathetic but very real, Roach's personality finds a counterpoint in Laura, who is herself aloof, "plastic," and controlling. In other words, we are given two anti-heroines, and it is a brilliant writing choice.
These two frenemies circle each other as the novel progresses. Roach is absurdly needy and believes there is a true connection between them. Laura is repulsed by Roach and her true crime obsession, especially Roach's fascination with the serial killers and her view of the victims as mere collateral damage to the story that matters, that of the killers. I am reminded of the TV series "Only Murders in the Building" and the soft humor with which it took on true crime podcasts and how it depicted the fans who would camp out by the building from which the podcast would emanate. These fans do exist, and the ethical issues that arise are touched on in this novel, which also entertains at the same time. Dark, brooding, and about establishing boundaries — or not!
"Loot" by Tania James
India in the late 18th century vividly comes to life in Tania James's hands. Abbas, a 17-year-old woodcarver and natural mechanical whiz, is summoned by Tipu Sultan of Mysuru, and is seconded to Monsieur Du Leze, a French clockmaker and inventor. Together, the two will create a giant tiger automaton that the Sultan wants to have to commemorate the return of his two sons from the British. In terms of world-building, the palace, its inhabitants, and the court intrigues all form part of the kaleidoscope of sights and sounds that are conjured up in such great detail. This is historical fiction of the highest order, and the fact that the narrative comments on imperialism, world domination, and politics, on greed and ambition, while keeping it personal and human, is to be admired.
Decades later, the second half of the novel turns into a heist story, one that is shot through with poetic justice. Abbas and Jehane (the adopted daughter of Du Leze, who returned to France), attempt to retrieve the Tipu Tiger from the estate of the late Lord Selwyn. Selwyn's widow is a collector of curios, and the Tiger was chosen by Selwyn as his spoil of war when the British took Mysore. Traversing decades, this novel is beautifully rendered, making the human and personal reflect on bigger issues such as colonialism, ownership of creation, love in the face of misunderstanding and intolerance, and how at the heart of it all lies the honesty of work, and of feelings towards each other. Stealing history, and one's heart, finds a voice in this novel.
"A World of Curiosities" by Louise Penny
Set in Quebec, Canada, the Armand Gamache detective series by Penny has earned her several awards and distinctions in crime fiction. State of Terror, the thriller co-written by Hillary R. Clinton, saw her sharing credits with Penny. In this novel, we are treated to multi-strand narratives that treat us to varying stages in the career of Chief Inspector Gamache. One is set in the present day, and mixes Gamache's work as a patron for the education of one of the criminals that he has put away, and a second narrative has to do with the true-to-life 1989 event of a campus massacre, and how it helped make him decide to work in Homicide. Then, there is a third narrative that has to do with his fellow law enforcement officer/son-in-law Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and how they got to be working together.
As members of the Sûreté du Québec, domestic life outside the force comes in the form of a 160-year-old letter written by a stonemason who bricked up an attic room at Three Pines, the small village that Gamache calls home. And yet, the letter exposes just how far-reaching his occupation is; as it seems that at every turn, Gamache and the whole town are being manipulated by a deranged criminal mastermind who was supposed to be languishing in prison. That a renowned unsigned painting that resides in a museum in Norwich, England, is part of the story just shows how fiendishly plotted this revenge scenario is. This plotting is what puts Penny's novels into a realm all their own, plus making it all make sense in the end. Intriguing read!
"The Lost Man of Bombay" by Vaseem Khan
This latest in the Malabar House series sees Khan taking us back to Bombay in the 1950s. It's post-colonial India, existing under the shadow of the Raj — a specific time and place that's conjured up with potent magic. Inspector Persis Wadia, the lone female inspector in the local police force, is our guide to this world. The case involves a white man found dead and frozen in the foothills of the Himalayas, and how he's been christened the Ice Man by the local media. It falls on Wadia's desk to make sense of this corpse, and things become complicated when, in what seem to be unrelated incidents, an Italian and a German expat are murdered within days of each other.
The immediate fear, and potentially disastrous headline, is whether a serial killer who targets only foreigners is on the loose in Bombay. As a fledgling independent nation, that would send the wrong signals. Politics within the police force, the prejudice against women, and divisions based on caste and religion all play a part in the story that unfolds. In the latter half, the pantheistic nature of religion in India is highlighted. What's nice to note is how Khan makes Persis such an unforgettable character, conflicted by what she feels for a British national and how that kind of relationship would never work, taking care of her wheelchair-bound father (even if it would seem that he's happy to gallivant and find new romantic attachments), and putting all of this in consonance with the police procedural and solving the case.