Book Review: The Blue Virgin and The Green Remains by M.K. Graff

Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday. What do we have today? Why, a pair of extraordinary mysteries from author M.K. Graff, that’s what. My review copies of The Blue Virgin and The Green Remains were graciously provided by the author.

I love mysteries. And England. And spunky, plucky heroines who are too curious for their own good and too clever by half. M.K. Graff’s Nora Tierney novels have all those things in spades.

In the first book in the series, The Blue Virgin, Nora is unexpectedly drawn into a murder-mystery when her close friend’s girlfriend is killed. Nora’s intelligence is exceeded only by her loyalty. Her unflagging faith in her friend’s innocence throws her and her as-yet unborn child into harm’s way on multiple occasions, much to the consternation of Simon, the man who loves her (and hopes to step into the shoes of her child’s dead father) and Declan, the magnetic detective inspector charged with investigating the murder. There’s something for everyone here – murder, mayhem, mystery, girl-power, snark, romance, and even a handful of fairies (Nora is writing a series of children’s books).

The follow-up novel, The Green Remains, picks up almost where The Blue Virgin left off. Nora once again stumbles into a murder mystery – this time quite literally, as she comes upon the body of the local landed gentry’s golden child during a walk. Is it suicide? Murder? Loyalty sucks Nora right back into the thick of an investigation as she finds herself caught up in a snarl of secrets and suspicions as Simon becomes a suspect in the death. Complicating matters, the inspector investigating this time is none other than Simon’s sister’s boyfriend.

Sound convoluted? It’s really not – it’s just deliciously complex, which is one of the things that make the Nora Tierney books so enjoyable. Chief among the others is the writing, which is engaging and enjoyable, fast-paced yet descriptive enough to evoke vivid mental images of all the main characters and the settings they occupy. The characters are complex and original. Nora is a delight, a sort of grown-up Nancy Drew, full of gumption and unflagging faith in her friends. The supporting characters are colorful and very real. The series is, quite simply, brilliant. It is fun, engaging, clever, twisty, and both plot- and character-driven in turns. Nora is a fabulous heroine, a busy-body in the best possible sense of the term – and a rather unexpected detective, seeing as she’s pregnant during the active bits of her “cases” so far. I look forward to seeing where she goes next – both as a new mother and as a detective!