This is the 30th book in the series- something that I did not realize until I got it. I also did not realize it was published posthumously, after the author passed away- so she might not have gotten to edit it as she liked. I think it would be better enjoyed by long term fans of her writing. In the beginning, the way the author portrays immigrants is very stereotypical and maybe it is supposed to be to get the point across. As an immigrant, there is some truth to it, how we stay in our own parts of town, but it was still off putting. The book would also go on political tangents. Aside from that it was an enjoyable mystery with unlikeable characters and a quirky neighborhood. I would be curious to try it from the beginning.

Gregor Demarkian, former FBI agent and consultant, is ready to retire. He and his wife Bennis have agreed to foster a child, Javier, with a mysterious past and limited language skills.  He's called  once again to join an investigation.

Marta Warkowski, a reclusive older woman, is found bound up in a garbage bag after it falls out of the van. In a coma, Warkowski is unable to tell police how she ended up as she did. When they go to search her apartment, the police find the dead body of her building's super, a man with whom she has a history of conflict. 

Who killed the super?  Why was she in the back of a van ... tied up in a garbage bag?

Lots of action in this one .. lots of characters to follow ... and suspect.  Added to the murder mystery is a parallel story of a local developer, Cary Alder.  FBI have eyes o him ... but he isn't working alone.   How does tie into the murder of a super ,,, and the attempted murder of the woman .. or is she the one who murdered the super?

Twists and turns are compelling.  Characters are all deftly drawn.  The ending, although not totally unexpected, was satisfactory.  Although 30th in the series, this reads easily as a stand alone.

Many thanks to the author / St Martin's Press / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction/mystery.  Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely  my own.

I had mixed feelings opening this book.  Jane Haddam died in 2019, after completing this one last book, and I was reluctant to start it.  I love this series and am sorry to see it end.  Jane Haddam was a combination of a traditional detective fiction writer and a contemporary social issue writer.  In her best books, the social issues didn’t overwhelm the story – in her worst books, they did.  This book is a loving wrap up to her long, revered and beloved series, and if you are a fan of Gregor Demarkian I recommend it.  

Like a good wrap up to a great TV series (Breaking Bad comes to mind), a satisfying wrap up is really the greatest gift a writer can give to readers. Agatha Christie, who knew she had impending dementia, wrapped up her beloved characters in a very final way, but Haddam sets her Demarkian off on a new life path.  It’s enough for this reader to hope he’ll enjoy it.

This book opens on an icy winter day in Philadelphia as main series characters Gregor Demarkian (a former FBI agent, and now a police consultant), and his wife Bennis (a well known fantasy writer), head to their neighborhood Catholic church and attached school to pick up a foster child.  While they’ve never discussed children, this one, Javier, seems to have fallen into their laps.  Bennis begins an intense round of cooking as Javier settles in, with the help of their young neighbor, Tommy, whose stepfather went away to prison in the last book.  

Gregor, meanwhile, is asked to consult on a case involving a woman who had fallen out of the back of a van, wrapped in a garbage bag, right in front of series stalwart Father Tibor and young Tommy as they walk home one night.  The woman, Marta, turns out to have been a life long resident of a building that has slowly changed from the Eastern European Catholic emigrees of her youth to a mostly Hispanic emigree population.  The super is always bugging her about moving from her large 3 bedroom to a smaller apartment so a bigger family can have hers.

She refuses to budge, has a restraining order against the super, and persistently takes her landlord to court.  Her landlord is a Donald Trump like figure who owns lots of buildings throughout the city and apparently has lots of shady financing keeping him afloat.  While this is a gentler outing from the usually fiery Haddam, she’s still concerned with ICE agents and differing attitudes toward immigrants.  The subject matter is incredibly timely.

As always, a Haddam novel is full of complexity – of character, of plot, and of ideas.  After such a long and glorious run, however, there’s also comfort here in these familiar characters and the familiar Armenian neighborhood where Gregor and Bennis have made their home.  The series ends on a New Year and on a new direction for Gregor and his family.  I had a tear in my eye but I also felt an immense gratitude for this long, wonderful, eccentric, and beautiful series of books.

Recently I have found myself reading and reviewing the latest title in a couple of long running mystery series. In each case, the author was someone I had always meant to read but hadn't. That's what happened when I requested and received the 30th and, as it turns out, final Gregor Demarkian mystery, published posthumously by the author's two sons, Matthew and Gregory DeAndrea. (Readers will be moved by their tribute to their mother at the end of the book.)

FIRST LINE: "Tommy Moradanyan was late."

THE STORY: Suddenly the Armenian neighborhood is shaken by a random murder and another attempt. With the safety of the community threatened, the Philadelphia police once again ask ex-FBI agent Gregor Demarkian to consult. Reluctantly, he agrees. He is still recovering from a gun shot wound that affected him both physically and mentally. Complicating things further, he and his wife have just agreed to foster Javier, an 'unaccompanied' minor.

WHAT I THOUGHT: Philadelphia is my hometown and I am always drawn to books that are set there. A mystery? Even better! And the reward was I enjoyed spending time with these (mostly) kind and thoughtful people. (Even the villains were interesting characters.) Their lives are difficult but that's not what defines them. The author does not ignore the effects of current societal issues such as ICE raids, trafficking, fraud, and unaccompanied child illegal immigration.

Some series benefit from reading in order and I am sure the Demarkian books fall in that category. But I didn't have any trouble following the story. If something wasn't clear, I just kept reading and my question would be answered. From other's comments, the author managed to produce a fitting ending for her character.

BOTTOM LINE: RECOMMENDED, but consider reading the series in order.

DISCLAIMER: A copy of One of Our Own was provided to me by Minotaur Books/Net Galley for an honest review.

Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books (November 17, 2020)
ISBN-10: 1250770491
ISBN-13: 978-1250770493

THE AUTHOR: Jane Haddam (1951 - 2019) is an American author of mysteries. Born Orania Papazoglou, she worked as a college professor and magazine editor before publishing her Edgar Award–nominated first novel, Sweet, Savage Death, in 1984. Not a Creature Was Stirring (1990) introduced Haddam’s best-known character, former FBI agent Gregor Demarkian. The series concludes with the 30th entry.

this book was heartbreaking to read knowing that it is the last time I’ll get to encounter Gregor Demarkian.. 

Haddam was a talented writer who never dumbed down the intellectual questions she was compelled to write about. This installment muses about immigration, assimilation, and gentrification, while delivering a satisfying mystery to boot.

I’ve read the entire series so reading the characters was a comforting and familiar feeling coupled with the sadness that this was the last book. 

If you’ve never read any of Haddam’s books before, you’re lucky! You get to start from the beginning! If you have  kept up with Gregor and friends, this is a bittersweet and thoughtful coda.

When I start this book, I didn’t realize that it was the very last novel in a long series; a touching postscript by the author’s sons mentions their late mother’s death from cancer before publication of this final installment.  For longtime fans of the series, this book must be a welcome way to see what happens to favorite characters.  As a first-time reader, I was left wondering when all the scene-setting was finally going to end so that something of consequence could start happening in the criminal investigation.  There’s all manner of sociopolitical commentary on immigration policy, what it means to belong in a neighborhood, misbehavior by developers, etc.  The author shows us—sometimes with a less-than-subtle touch—how bigotry and discrimination exist across various ethnic groups.  Somewhere in all of this there was an investigation, but it felt like a minor part of the novel and sort of solved itself towards the end with little participation from the detectives.  New readers would be better served by starting with an earlier book in this well-liked series.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for a digital advance review copy.

As always, Haddam manages to present an intricately plotted mystery filled with the characters fans have come to know and love, while simultaneously examining current events with a gimlet eye.

This is a satisfying end to a great series. I've read and enjoyed the books in this traditional mystery series for years. Unfortunately, the author died and so this will be the last book in the series. In addition to the enjoying the plot of this book, it tied up the protagonists and supporting characters story lines in a satisfying way and sent them off into promising futures.

When I received my ARC copy of One of Our Own, by Jane Haddam, I was elated, but it was also bittersweet. This is the 30th, and final book, of her beloved, Gregor Demarkian series. The author, Orania Papazoglou, writing under 
the pen name of Jane Haddam, unfortunately lost her battle with cancer in July of 2019. Prior to this novel, I have read nine other books in this series; the first eight, and then I read Bleeding Hearts, number eleven in the series, because it sounded so interesting. I really enjoyed them all. A lot of the earlier books in the series were holiday-themed, which I always love in my Cozies.

The main protagonist of this series is, Gregor Demarkian, an Armenian-American, ex-FBI Agent, who consults with local police departments on bizarre and compelling cases. Gregor lives on Cavanaugh Street in Philadelphia, which is essentially an Armenian-American enclave. Over the course of the series you get to know the various characters in his community and it's really a lot of fun!

With this novel, from the start, it felt a little different. I commented early on that it felt choppy. The author did not have the chance to finish this one herself, it was actually completed by her sons; seriously, what an honor.
I wonder, however, if perhaps she didn't have the chance to go through final edits on this if that was the case. The Prologue in particular, for me, felt like she wrote a framework of how she wanted it to go and planned to go in and smooth it out at a later time, but never had the chance? Obviously, I have no way of knowing what the exact process of getting this novel ready for print was, but it did feel different than her earlier work.

Additionally, there was some content in here that made me uncomfortable. There's a big focus on immigrants and immigrant populations throughout the novel. Basically, you have a neighborhood that is shifting. For example, one building that might have once been filled with German immigrants is now filled with Spanish immigrants. So, you have characters that are feeling affected by those shifts. As a reader, you get a lot of their thinking, or even ranting, about these new communities.

For me, I felt like while that is a valid topic to examine if your setting is a vibrant city like, Philadelphia, and that I understand you will have community members who will feel very passionately about the topic, I still felt like the content could have been handled with a bit more care. There was a lot of stereotypes being thrown about and not until the very end did I feel like they were challenged at all.

The narrative did come full circle on that topic; I am happy with how it ended up, but there were a few characters getting there that were downright vile. I just wish at least Gregor would have put up a challenge to what they were saying. 

The mystery itself was interesting, although it did wrap up rather quickly. I love Gregor, and his now wife, novelist, Bennis Hannaford. Overall, this is a good novel, but I would definitely recommend starting with the earlier books in the series. In fact, the first book in the series is Christmas-themed, so perfect timing! I am really going to miss Gregor, Bennis, Tibor and the rest of Cavanaugh Street, but luckily, I still have twenty more books in the series I can pick up!

Thank you so much to the publisher, St. Martin's Press, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I appreciate the opportunity.

My deepest condolences to her sons. Their Afterword brought me to tears. Orania sounds like an amazing woman, she certainly left a legacy with her work and will be missed.

Ironically, One of Our Own is the last book in this series but my first introduction to it.  I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery in this book, about a woman who is flung out of a black van, barely alive, while in her apartment lies a man who has been murdered.  There are so many pieces to this puzzle that all come together to form a fairly satisfying picture.  

It was a bit difficult to keep all the different characters straight.  I don't feel I missed anything by not having read any of the other books in the series yet, but it may have helped in that aspect.  I did enjoy the characters and their varied lives, and look forward to reading more.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes a good mystery and needs a little escape from the real world. 

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.  All opinions are my own.

ONE OF OUR OWN: A Gregor Demarkian Novel
Jane Haddam
Minotaur Books
ISBN 9781250770493
Hardcover
Mystery/Thriller

ONE OF OUR OWN marks the bittersweet end of the longrunning Gregor Demarkian series. The conclusion is occasioned by the passing of Jane Haddam, the pseudonym of prolific author Orania Papazoglou. While Papazoglou wrote a number of romantic novel series under her own name and a number of other aliases, she achieved her greatest success by far with the Demarkian novels. She wrote ONE OF OUR OWN in the final year of her life, knowing it would be her last. 

Matthew and Gregory DeAndrea, Papazoglou’s sons, note in their touching Afterward to ONE OF OUR OWN that the book is a Papazoglou’s gift to her fans. So it is. ONE OF OUR OWN resolves for longtime readers some issues that were left hanging fire in FIGHTING CHANCE while giving those who are picking up on the Demarkian series for the first time enough backstory to pick up, with a little patience, on what has gone before. Old and new readers alike are certainly yanked up and hooked into the story within the first few pages, which introduce a character named Marta Warkowski whose presence throughout the book is more off-stage than on, yet who serves, both actively and passively, as a catalyst for everything that happens. Warkowski is a long-term tenant in an apartment complex who may be a bit of a character but who is on the side of the angels in her disputes with her building supervisor and the owner of the building itself. When we meet Warkowski she is jousting with some very real windmills. We next encounter her in a comatose state. Demarkian at the request of local law enforcement is reluctantly drawn into the investigation of what happened to her but becomes more deeply involved when a corpse is found in her apartment. Demarkian, a former FBI agent, finds that his own inquiries are dovetailing with those of his former agency, who have an eye on Cary Alder, an enigmatic Philadelphia real estate magnate who owns the apartment in which Warkowski resides. Alder, it seems, has business interests on several fronts that stray far beyond high-rises. Demarkian’s involvement in these proceedings is reluctant at best, given that he and Bennis, his wife have just begun fostering a seven-year-old boy named Javier through their church. Little is known about Javier, other than he is (apparently) able to communicate only in Spanish. The new addition to the Demarkian family (and another) provide Demarkian with a bit of a respite from the intellectual rigors of the case with which he is involved, until a surprising source reveals Javier’s origin, even as it appears that the mysteries of the attack on Warkowski and the presence of the body in her apartment are on verge of being solved. Possibly. 

ONE OF OUR OWN ends satisfactorily but not neatly. It is thus realistic. It is also, in its complexity, one of Haddam’s best books to date, one that slices into and out of contemporary issues without necessarily resolving any of them --- what could, at this point? --- but providing interesting points of discussion without succumbing totally to political correctness. It is also a fitting conclusion for Haddam’s loyal readers, while, interestingly enough, providing a convenient place for those seeking a new series to read to jump on before seeking out her backlist. Oh, and that Afterward. While Haddam did not write it, one cannot help but heed well the final sentence. No peeking, but don’t skip it, either. 

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
© Copyright 2020, The Book Report, Inc. All rights reserved.

One of Our Own follows police consultant, Gregor. A trash bag falls out of an unmarked van in Philadelphia’s predominately Armenian neighborhood. Inside is a woman in a coma. When the police arrive at her home, they find her dead super locked inside. Who were the woman’s kidnappers and why did they do it? Did the kidnappers or the woman kill the super?

Most of the things I didn’t like about this book were my own fault. I didn’t do any research about the book before requesting it. It is the thirtieth and final book in the series. I haven’t read any of the previous books. I spent most of this novel confused by all the characters’ backstories, which I’m sure were fully fleshed out in previous books in the series. There is about 1,000 pages of history that I missed. However, the writing style, mystery and the focus on immigrant policies was good. 4 stars to One of Our Own! It is sure to be an excellent conclusion to fans of the series.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is the first Gregor Demarkian mystery I’ve read and alas, it’s the last because of the author’s death. And while it worked as a stand-alone, I bet its better if you have the background of the previous books.

It's hard to say goodbye. The mystery community lost a wonderful voice when Orania Papazoglou passed away before finishing this, the 30th book in her great series. Her sons picked up the torch and brought One of Our Own to publication. Thanks, guys. On one hand it is hard knowing this ends the series but long running story lines were tied up and I finished the book feeling satisfied.
First, this may not work for most readers as a stand alone. As the 30th book, if you have not read the previous books this may leave you a bit confused. Having said that, it's still a great read. It's full of tension, various points of view, current issues and lots of strong emotions. There is a lot packed into this book. Immigration is front and center - some are people who have been in America for decades and some who are new to our country. We meet Javier, a seven year old boy who is taken in as a foster child by Bennis and Gregor, a child who came as an unaccompanied minor and was lucky to find shelter with a group of nuns. The elderly woman who has lived her whole life in the same apartment is angry and afraid due to the changes in her neighborhood. She especially is at odds with the apartment super. Other characters in the book are running their own illegal games and the Feds are very interested. Soon Gregor, former FBI, is asked to join the investigation. I won't say more to prevent spoilers. Fans of the series will be glad to spend time with the regular characters we have come to know and, if you enjoyed One of Our Own as much as I did, you will read the end and say thank you, Orania, for many, many hours of reading pleasure.
My thanks to the publisher, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Sadly, the Gregor Demarkian series is closing with the death of its author, Jane Haddam.  Demarkian, and his Armenian American community  in Philadelphia has been the center of a long running series, and this last book ends as he and his wife Bennis are adopting an immigrant child.  Haddam’s politics are on full display in “One of our Own”, but the story line is strong, and the familiar characters are as quirky and endearing as ever.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A few things to note:

-This is the final book (#30) in the Gregor Demarkian series and this is a fact that I did not know before picking this one up. Because of this, I feel like my star rating is lower for the simple fact that I literally missed 30 other stories featuring this character and was absolutely confused while reading it

-I listened to this on audiobook and it was pretty slow, even at 1.5 speed. I wish I had been able to speed it up a bit because it really dragged for me

-This was a slow burn mystery/thriller and I usually prefer lots of action early on to pique my interest

-The characters are super racist in this book which was off-putting for me. It felt very unnecessary to the storyline

Gregor Demarkian, former FBI detective and police consultant, returns for his final murder case. When a mysterious black van drops a garbage bag with a battered elderly woman inside, the residents of the American-Armenian enclave of Philadelphia are eager to determine if this crime is related to the recent ICE raids in the area. 

One of Our Own is Jane Haddam’s final installment of the Gregor Demarkian series. Unfortunately, I felt like this novel was trying to be too many things — A commentary on race relations in America, an investigation into the broken immigration system, a blend of white collar crime and attempted murder..

This book reads very slowly. Character introductions dominated the first quarter of the book and I still had difficulty flushing out roles. It took me nearly as long to delineate the setting. 

I suspect this novel served as a fine enough conclusion to the dedicated readers of this series, but I did not find it to be a satisfying stand-alone novel. 

Thank you @minotaur_books and @netgalley for this advanced review copy. 

Read if you like:
The Gregor Demarkian Series

For many reasons law enforcement consultant and  former FBI agent Gregor Demarkian is contemplating retirement, but he is persuaded to assist the Philadelphia police with looking into a strange series of events. Can there be links among increased ICE activity near a local Catholic parish, a comatose older woman wrapped in a trash bag,  a murdered apartment house superintendent, and a local developer under investigation for shady dealings? With Demarkian on the case, murky details soon become clearer and Gregor can concentrate on some significant personal decisions. This is the final novel in a long-running mystery series, and though it will be most fully enjoyed by readers familiar with the many recurring characters populating Gregor's quirky Armenian-American neighborhood, it can be read easily as a standalone. The book also includes a moving memorial tribute to the late author, written by her sons. Thanks to the publisher for supplying an advance reading copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

law-enforcement, immigrants, murder, murder-investigation, family-dynamics, friendship, intolerance

I have no idea why I haven't kept up with Demarkian for the last six years, but I was excited to see one on offer from NetGalley. But. I was sad to see that the author was assaulted by a virulent form of Breast Cancer and that this is the last one that she wrote. At least we have all the others to go back to and can see the list on https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/
Now then. Demarkian is retired FBI with a degree in accounting and is currently on board as a consultant to the Philadelphia PD on an apparent attempted murder. He had happened to be close by the parish church on a private errand involving the fostering of a 7 year old traumatized boy who spoke no English (but understood much) and, apparently, a rescue dachshund. What was immediately known is that a large leaf bag containing a battered older woman who lived nearby fell out of a sinister big black van which had recently been cruising the ethnically changed neighborhood. No ID and in a coma, but once identified and residence located, a dead body with no face was found in her flat. Now comes a very complex investigation involving ethnic neighborhoods, legal and clandestine immigrants and the attitudes and prejudices that they have as well as the ones they face (including Demarkian himself). An excellent tale as a mystery and as a reminder to all of us whose parent, grands, and greats came here from wherever to face the unknown.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

This book starts off very scattered. Numerous short chapters introduce a variety of characters but it unfortunately struggled to hold my interest. The reader is only given quick snapshots of characters and I hoped they would be developed further but that must have happened in prior installments of this series. 

Whether intentional or not there is some rather offensive language used in describing characters. Racist, classist, and otherwise, I had a very hard time continuing beyond the first few chapters because of the tone deaf language used. If this language was used to highlight character flaws, it failed to do so because the characters were so underdeveloped at this point. 

Beyond the halfway point it still felt very disjointed. The characters were constantly complaining about different race and class groups, immigration, and how kids are taught to hate cops in schools. This reads like a right wing propaganda piece preaching about how ICE is doing a great job and student loan forgiveness is ridiculous. I’m not sure if that truly is the point of the narrative or if the author is just very out of sync with the state of the country/world today. I read to escape the real world news, not to be lectured about it in a work of fiction. 

I felt like so much time was dedicated to the above issues that the actual plot of the book was diminished and shoved to the back burner. My interest went with it.