A SLOW COLD DEATH by Susy Gage

The cover of A SLOW COLD DEATH is an interesting choice, since the entirety of the story takes place in Pasadena. But since our hero, Lori Barrow, has fled Canada ("The only safe month in Montreal was July, and it was all alone, a sad pitiful little month standing up to eleven cruel others.") for a tenure-track position at "Superior Technical Institute" (I think we all know which university this is based on), it's oddly appropriate. Cold makes an appearance in several ways, actually, beyond the death of a researcher in a "cold room." Lori's ex-girlfriend dumped her rather than live in frigid Canada, Lori's research involves ice core analysis, and of course, a "slow cold death" is a theory for the potential end of the universe, appropriate in a novel in which physics has center stage.

Lori was just a child when she graduated from STI, and now she's returning as an assistant professor. Two of her former graduate school friends have preceded her to LA; Abby McRae, who abandoned grad school to become a lawyer, and Carol, who works at the LPR Lab (also called the LEPERLab). Lori has a reputation for being around death, so it's not that surprising when a grad student who is forced on her ends up dead, locked in the cold room. Lori is convinced that politics are behind the murder, especially when bodies begin piling up. And the politics are a minefield, giving us plenty of suspects.

I found this novel a delight to read! Besides the intricate mystery and the suspense of having a killer loose in the physics department, the process of competing for a multi-million-dollar grant is a surprising nail-biter. I've never been so on edge when reading about professors trying to get the department head's signature before FedEx closes. There are plenty of red herrings, high-speed chases, and double-crosses to keep the pages turning, and Lori is a fun character.

Recommended to any mystery fan with experience with acadamia.

Source disclosure: I received an advance copy from the publisher.

DOOR IN THE RIVER by Inger Ash Wolfe

This is the third book in a series that follows Inspector Hazel Micallef in Port Dundas, Ontario. I had not read the first two in the series, but was not in the least lost; rather, I determined I'd have to download the first two in the series immediately.

A DOOR IN THE RIVER begins with a mysterious death: A local man is found dead outside a native cigarette shop on reservation land. It is determined that he died of a bee sting - but he certainly died at night, and bees are not nocturnal. This investigation (in cooperation with reservation authorities, which adds a frustrating twist) leads to a massive crime operation.

Hazel is a fantastic protagonist: "The force of her will and her peculiar way of building evidence for a case was something to see. He understood why she'd driven Ray Greene crazy. And in the end you had to agree with her! There was no way you were going to make your own logic as internally consistent as hers. Supposedly this was "instinct". He'd never really seen it. Too bad she wielded it like a mallet." I really love her. She's stubborn and sometimes rude, but she gets the job done. Her job is complicated by the necessity of cooperating. She's also affected by a decision to consolidate police departments, which means a colleague with whom she has a thorny past will be her superior.

The mystery itself certainly kept me guessing, though it strained credibility at times. The crimes are particularly brutal and disturbing, almost too much for my sensibilities. But Hazel kept me reading. Recommended for mystery/police procedural fans. The first in the series is THE CALLING, followed by THE TAKEN. I'll be reading both.

Source disclosure: I received an e-galley of this title from the publisher.

BONES ARE FOREVER by Kathy Reichs

This is the fifteenth entry in Kathy Reichs's Temperance Brennan series, and I'm not getting the least bit tired of the formula as a good beach read. If earlier books in the series are more complex and interesting, I suppose that's to be expected. I do wish Tempe would manage to avoid getting kidnapped just once. Now, that would be a twist! Still, the mystery held my interest and the Ryan-Brennan relationship is entertaining.

A woman checks into a Montreal hospital and is found to have given birth recently. Before an investigation can be launched, she disappears. When Tempe finds three decomposing infants in an apartment, the team follows her movements to Edmonton, then to Yellowknife, a remote diamond-mining town. Yellowknife is a really interesting setting; Tempe's past with the RCMP sergeant is not. A non-love triangle? Seriously? The mystery kept me guessing, though, and the forensic science is excellent as always, and that's what I look for in the series.

Recommended to Reichs fans. Interested in jumping in? Start with early books in the series. The first is Deja Dead. If you watch the television show BONES, please don't expect to recognize Tempe in the books and you won't be disappointed.

Source disclosure: I received an e-galley of this book from the publisher.