M. J. Lee

Four years ago a fourteen-year old boy disappeared but COVIS and incompetence meant his case was not solved. His mother has never given up and her campaigning has caused the case to be reopened by MIT. Meanwhile Ridpath is balancing the demands of MIT and the Coroner's team alongside his daughter, Eve, who is a demanding teenager. As clues lead to a local care home, Ridpath realises that there may be a familiar person in control.
This is a solid series of books and this is a really strong installation. Several returning characters are to the fore here, Mrs Challinor recovering in hospital and more importantly Dr Lardner. There are some really important issues developed in the narrative, particularly around the care of the elderly post-Covid, and the plot is clever and satisfying.… (more)

Since I am a long-time fan of M.J. Lee's Jayne Sinclair genealogical mysteries, I thought I'd give this new series a try. After all, I don't remember reading a mystery set in Chester, England before. I'm glad I picked up The Coffin in the Wall. It's a promising start to a new series that I will be keeping an eye on.

The City of Chester could be considered a character in the book, but the focus is on DI Emma Christie, the daughter of a legendary police officer who had a 100% success rate. Unfortunately, her father now has dementia and doesn't want to go into a nursing home. As a result, Emma has to deal with an elaborate caregiving schedule that leaves her precious little sleep at the best of times-- and this isn't one of those times.

Emma doesn't feel like she measures up to her father, and her boss's behavior doesn't help. (I wish there would be a few more caring superior officers in police procedurals. It would make a nice change.) She goes everywhere with a ledger in which she writes detailed notes of everything she sees and hears. Emma likes "bureaucratic work... It also meant she was across every inch of the investigation in case anyone asked." This detailed as-you-go narrative aids in her investigation several times, and it also saves her from some of the shark bites from the Powers That Be.

There are flashes of much-needed humor throughout The Coffin in the Wall, and I liked the characters surrounding Emma: John Simpson the civilian researcher, DC Harry Fairweather, and the pesky journalist who always seems to be underfoot. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series, and here's hoping Emma will be able to get a bit more sleep.… (more)

I have found M.J. Lee's Jayne Sinclair series to be the perfect blend of history and mystery, with the added bonus being the fact that Jayne's life is very seldom ever in danger. (Sometimes I just don't want any blood and guts in the mystery I'm reading, thank you very much.)

Jayne is very close to her stepfather who moved to a nursing home when he was diagnosed with dementia. Once there, he met, fell in love with, and married another resident, and Jayne spends as much time with the pair as possible-- even planning this trip for all three of them to enjoy.

The Missing Father proves that it's never too late to learn about your ancestors, and Jayne takes readers through all the various methods to learn about your family history. Alice Taylor's case is a bit trickier since she was adopted and her name was changed but Jayne has many tricks up her sleeve and learns the truth. Finding out what happened to Alice's parents is more difficult, and I really began to wonder if Jayne was going to get the job done before the plane took off for Australia.

The Missing Father takes readers into the chaos of World War II and the fall of Singapore to the Japanese, and although Lee doesn't gloss over the facts or the horrors of war, he never goes over the top. (I do like it when authors let readers' imaginations fill in the blanks.) In one book after another, Lee has found fascinating little-known chapters of history to bring to life, and that's one of the many reasons why I enjoy this series so much.

If you like reading mysteries closer to the cozy end of the spectrum that also have a strong dash of history, consider reading M.J. Lee's Jayne Sinclair mysteries. Although it's better to read them in order, it's not absolutely necessary. Start anywhere, and don't be surprised if you find yourself looking for the earlier books in the series.… (more)