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Until Justice is Done by Christine McGuire Court drama 8/10 |
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By bookworm on
5/31/2007 2:29 PM
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Christine McGuire’s Until Justice is Done [ISBN 0 7493 2040 0] is quite a slim book which is why I decided to take it away on an overnighter holiday, and a good choice it was. An excellent plot even though about a serial rapist which is becoming a little passé as everyone has this as a topic, but she manages to write a lively and readable book, even though the rock hard driven female attorney about to expire through stress can be annoying at times as she manages to be as clueless
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The Kremlin Device by Chris Ryan. Adventure/thriller 9/10 |
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By bookworm on
5/30/2007 2:14 PM
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As far as Chris Ryan is concerned I’m going to have to take back all my negative comments about Boys Own Adventures – because he writes them so very well. Chris Ryan’s The Kremlin Device [ISBN 0 09 191105 2] is well plotted, with a narrative expertly written for maximum suspense and action, and also with characters you know he knows well. From the opening chapter of his parachute drop right up to the sweaty end, it really paces along. His background is believably authentic –of course, especially the army stuff, and altogether is a good read.
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The Blood-Dimmed Tide by Rennie Airth, Crime/Police procedural 7/10 |
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By bookworm on
5/29/2007 9:13 AM
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Rennie Airth’s the Blood Dimmed Tide [ISBN 0 330-48472-9] is set in 1932, and has a pleasing, countryside context backing a quite chilling thriller, the plot is straightforward and the narrative nicely tucked in with the time and situation – no rushing about for the police in these times, and the characters believable
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The Precipice by Ben Bova. The Asteroid Wars:1 Science Fiction 5/10 |
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By bookworm on
5/24/2007 8:16 AM
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It appears that Ben Bova is one of the “masters” of Science Fiction given the plaudits of the jacket blurbs (though I note that some of the journals are obscure to say the least). This book The Precipice [ISBN 0 340 840090 0] – the first book of a series the Asteroid Wars, makes sure for me that there won’t be a second. The giants of early sci-fo, such as Asimov or Clarke, managed to be scientists AND writers. Ben Bova may well be a scientist, but I bet he never went to any classes for writing, and I wish he had.
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Atlantis by David Gibbins. Grail search type adventure 7/10 |
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By bookworm on
5/23/2007 2:37 PM
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David Gibbin’s adventure novel Atlantis [ISBN 0 7553 2422 6] is another of those irritatingly popular search-for-lost treasure-type books (no prizes in guessing what they’re looking for) with similar strengths and weaknesses to many of the others. The strengths are the inherent interest of the search – unravelling a deep long-term mystery, and lots of authentic historical background together with gung-ho action and baddies on the trail making considerable suspense. The weaknesses are
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Crow Lake by Mary Lawson. Literary fiction 8/10 |
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By bookworm on
5/22/2007 8:25 AM
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Mary Lawson’s literary fiction novel Crow Lake [Vintage books] is the archetypal Reading Club choice. Well written, a narrative with psychological depth, fascinating context [the wilds of Canada] and a readable story.
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Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky. Literary Fiction 9/10 |
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By bookworm on
5/21/2007 11:58 AM
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This is a quite amazing book – Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky [ISBN 978 0 099 48878 1] Irene Nemirovsky was a remarkable woman, a multilingual Russian Jew who was in France during its occupation and during this time she wrote the two sections of this book, before she was taken to Auschwitz where she died in 1942 – and this is one of the reasons this book is just so gripping. The book tells perceptively of the time when the Germans were about to move into Paris and there was a major outflow into the countryside –
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The Glory Boys by Gerald Seymour. Spy/terrorist thriller 8/10 |
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By bookworm on
5/19/2007 1:22 PM
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This boys own adventure stuff is not usually my kind of reading but The Glory Boys, spy/terrorist thriller by Gerald Seymour is very readable. It is realistically plotted, with a swift-moving narrative and though characterisations are not brilliant, Jimmy, the alcoholic crumpled secret service dial-an-assassin is very nicely portrayed.
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Promise me by Harlan Coben. Crime fiction/thriller 7/10 |
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By bookworm on
5/17/2007 6:21 AM
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Harlan Coben’s crime mystery fiction Promise me [ISBN 978 0 7528 7821 8] is superbly plotted –the mysterious disappearance of a girl starts the book and the step by step following her trail forms a suspenseful and readable book – with an excellent twist of an ending – which now we expect from this writer.
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Archangel by Paul Watkins. Literary fiction 8/10 |
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By bookworm on
5/16/2007 9:04 AM
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I loved the atmosphere of Paul Watkin’s novel Archangel [ISBN 0 571 17717 4] even though the images are bleak and primeval: the story is powerful and interesting, and the characters, though not written with depth, show psychological shrewdness in their personas. It is set in North Maine, close to the Canadian border, amongst the bleak Algonquin wilderness, and evokes in us that mysterious uncertainty that large untamed areas call from us.
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