August 5, 2024

So, I have to admit I was not looking forward to opening Box #7, a Wine & Country box, not even taped off. Both the box and the sloppy completion of sealing of it suggested a recent eradication of books from the living area. Initially, my anticipation was spot on, 21 books, 20 of which were mysteries. The only non mystery, somehow, is Gore Vidal's "Hollywood," which goes back to an IU Undergraduate library book sale and long forgotten. It must have somehow been stuck in with our fiction collection, identified, and removed for something newer.

Even though my initial discouragement with the contents suggested I might have absolutely nothing interesting to say about the books in this box, I was struck by two trends emerging that weren't as obvious with earlier boxed mysteries. Frankly, box seven contains even fewer of the cheap drug store mysteries, as many hardbacks as cheap paperbacks (8 for both). I also find 4 of the better paperback editions. So, why does this matter? Well, first, I assume that's why many of these had an even later "expiration" date than the "Mercy," "Burnt Bones, "The Standing Man" collection of the earliest boxes; second, hardbacks, not surprisingly, demand so much more space. Generally, I won't buy a hardback mystery of an author I don't know, as both cost and space come into play; I do note that two of the hardbacks have stickers that suggested they were on remainder tables. For $5.98, I will gladly deal with an unknown author in hardback. One can't act surprised that these are in this box, any box, down here in the basement.

However, one hardback is "Unwanted" by Kristina Ohlsson, which takes place in Sweden. Stieg Larsson's "Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" series opened up the world to a wide expanse of Scandinavian mysteries, many of which I can't get enough of: Jo Nesbo, famous for "The Snowman" (but avoid the movie), and who was perhaps an influence for Larsson, given his career starting in the 1990s; Camilla Läckberg ("The Ice Princess"); and Jussi Adler-Olsen ("The Scarred Woman"). While many of these mysteries share much of the clichés of American (and British) modern crime fiction, they embed the crime and the crime solution within a richer fabric (or maybe to this slug of an American, a more exotic fabric). Poor Ms. Ohlsson, I guess "Unwanted" didn't meet that standard for me. How depressing to be so unwanted that your book ends up in a wine box with multiple copies of Karin Slaughter and P.J. Tracy mysteries.

I would point out that as I review this box, I am noting the absence of a lot of international crime thrillers, more than just the Scandinavians named above. I seem much more willing to pursue a series set in Scotland (Ian Rankin and Denise Mina), or the Shetland Islands (Ann Cleaves), or even Yorkshire (Peter Robinson) than a series set in the United States. All of this reminds me why I was so, so disappointed in "The Day is Dark" by Yrsa Sigurdardottir, firmly buried in this box. "The Day is Dark" takes place in Greenland, which completely sucked me into purchasing the book, but didn't move me to keep the book upstairs or to purchase more by Mr. or Ms. Sigurdardottir (despite the fantastic name suggesting a sugar daughter).

One other notable inclusion in the box: Iris Johansen's "Look Behind You." My sister, Lisa, brought me this book when I was in the hospital recovering from my heart attack in summer 2017. She purchased it at the airport to read herself; then, given it is a quick read, left it with me, which honestly I snarfed down while fighting hospitalized boredom (I believe this was during the final part of my month-like reservation, room #4, where I was mostly being rehabilitated, if I can describe it that way, and came after her second flight to visit). The most interesting part of that book, which is not the murders or the resolution, is a hero who regains her sight after 20 years of blindness. I have no idea how possible that is, but it did lead to an interesting perspective for a mostly bed-ridden hospital patient for a couple of days.

Finally, as an interesting post-script to the above, drafted several days ago: late last week I hit the local public library's used book sale. As these often are, this one was rather bereft of anything I didn't have and wanted. Given that books were 25 cents each, I went ahead and bought a cheap, in every sense of the word, mystery (what can I say? I have a problem and I am only one or two steps into the recovery program) by an international writer, Mo Hayder, whose "Wolf" stared at me from this box. The one I brought home this week, "Hanging Hill" has started quite well. Given it will end reasonably well (and I have read thousands of books that start well but don't end well), not only will this thick hardback need to stay upstairs, but I might need to bring the "Wolf" into the main living area. That can't bode well for a retiree trying to declutter his house.

Full series here.