Reviews of new mystery novels

But violence comes to him when a young woman near death is found in the woods near his home. Sean starts his own inquiry when he becomes the target of one cop's investigation. Soon Sean's burgeoning friendship with two sheriff's deputies puts him on the trail of human smuggling and the brutal treatment of migrant workers.

Lowe gives in to several genre cliches, including the burned-out former cop, and an overpacked plot. But Lowe, a documentary writer and director, delivers a believable story and an appealing hero.

While Lowe's debut definitely is hard-boiled, the author wisely uses that cute dachshund as Sean's companion and comfort. Too many mystery authors use pets as a gimmick, but Lowe has the right approach. Like many small dogs, Maxine is fearless. Her scenes bring a smile, but do not dilute the impact of "A False Dawn."

Energetic storytelling will likely find an audience for Lowe's first novel. Doubtless we'll see Sean's tranquility on the St. John's River disturbed again.

"Darling Jim" by Christian Moerk; Holt (304 pages, $25)

The power of storytelling can never be underestimated, as Danish-born Christian Moerk proves in his enthralling "Darling Jim."

In his American debut, Moerk shows how the various forms of storytelling — myths, fairy tales, horror and crime fiction — each have the strength to entertain, to reflect society's concerns and to show people at their best and worst.

"Darling Jim" is steeped in each storytelling tradition that Moerk skillfully wraps in a sophisticated piece of crime fiction.

A reclusive woman and her two nieces are found murdered in their secluded home in Malahide, a Dublin suburb. The evidence suggests that the aunt kept the younger women prisoners and that a fourth woman escaped. During their imprisonment, the sisters each wrote a diary that they were able to smuggle out of the house.

When a lonely postal clerk finds one of the diaries, he embarks on a near-Arthurian odyssey to find out what brought the women to that horrible ending.

The answers are in the small Irish town of Castletownbere where, three years before, each of the women fell under the spell of Jim Quick, a charismatic storyteller who attracts crowds who flock to the bars to hear his tall tales. But only the two sisters notice that Jim's arrivals and the murders of several women happen at the same time.

While the sisters' unity draws them closer as a family, it also makes them pariahs and will lead them to that Malahide home.

"Darling Jim" encompasses four threads: the two sisters' diaries, Jim's stories and what happened in the Malahide home. Moerk tightly weaves each story into a cohesive plot that delves into the emotional core of his characters.

Moerk, who now lives in Brooklyn, has two other novels that have been published in Europe, but "Darling Jim" is his first to be published in the United States.

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Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.