Sleeping Dogs

May 4, 2015
British author Mogford’s middling fourth Spike Sanguinetti novel (after 2014’s Hollow Mountain) finds the Gibraltarian attorney with plenty on his plate. His law practice is in financial trouble, he’s still traumatized by the death of a woman close to him, and he’s becoming more and more responsible for the well-being of an orphaned child. Spike gets a bit of a break from the daily stresses when his law partner, Peter Galliano, who’s recovering from a serious injury, invites Spike and Spike’s father to Corfu. Unfortunately, the relaxing vacation goes south pretty quickly. Peter’s affluent neighbor, Sir Leo Hoffmann, has made a significant archeological find from the Bronze Age, but when he leads a party into the excavations, they encounter a corpse. After someone Spike knows is arrested for murder, he investigates with the assistance of his ex-girlfriend, Det. Sgt. Jessica Navarro. The underwhelming mystery and the somewhat clichéd climax don’t do justice to the interesting main character. Agent: Nicola Barr, Greene & Heaton (U.K.).

May 1, 2015
A high-powered Gibraltarian lawyer cuts short an idyllic vacation to defend a hapless man accused of a brutal murder.Overworked attorney and sometime sleuth Spike Sanguinetti (Hollow Mountain, 2014, etc.) suffers panic attacks, largely related to the death of his ex, Zahra, three years ago. When his doctor and friend Kitty Gonzalez prescribes a getaway, Corfu turns out to be just what the doctor ordered for Spike and his elderly dad, Rufus. Their getaway estate is next door to that of media mogul Sir Leo Hoffmann, and before long they're rubbing elbows with the wealthy philanthropist. As Spike's odyssey unfolds, it's counterpointed by short glimpses of the imperilment and presumed death of a young woman named Calypso. The colorful characters arriving to fill out the company include Spike's colleague Peter Galliano and DS Jessica Navarro, Spike's old flame, who kindles his ardor anew. While exploring a local cave with the others, Spike discovers the bludgeoned body of Arben, an Albanian who works for Hoffmann. Lakis, a Greek who first greeted Spike and Rufus on their arrival and tended them at the guesthouse, is arrested for the murder after the police learn that he and Arben had been arguing earlier. Spike, who has taken a liking to the helpful Lakis, instinctively rushes to his defense. He begins to investigate, with Jessica playing Nora to his Nick. And how does Calypso fit into it all? The first half of Spike's fourth rolls slowly. Once its focus shifts to treating its fully drawn characters as suspects, however, it has the satisfying flavor of a classic whodunit.

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May 1, 2015
Mogford's fine series, set on the island of Gibraltar and starring lawyer Spike Sanguinetti, alternates between adventures taking place on the Rock itselfa spectacular setting for crime fiction, both for its insular nature and for its amalgam of African and European influencesand in various, nearly as atmospheric Mediterranean settings nearby. This time its Corfu, where the ever-brooding Sanguinetti, still bemoaning the tragedy he failed to prevent in Hollow Mountain(2014), repairs with his ex-girlfriend, policewoman Jessica Navarro, for a little R&R. Both Rs prove in short supply, as they become involved with amateur archaeologist Leo Hoffmann and are thrust into another murder investigation, this time of a young Albanian killed on Hoffmann's property. It's easy to say that novels set in stunning locales project vivid senses of place, but Mogford goes further than that: he uses his settings for not only their beauty and atmosphere but also the multicultural richness they support in the characters and the plot. This series belongs on the reading lists of everyone who cares about international crime fiction, especially those willing to leave the chill of Scandinavia every now and then.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)