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Naked to the Hangman by Andrew Taylor. British crime fiction 6/10 |
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By bookworm on
3/31/2008 1:29 PM
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Andrew Taylor’s Naked to the Hangman [ISBN 978 0 340 89521 4] is obviously the work of a good writer, the plot is sound, the story fine, and the characters quite rounded – and yet the two-strand narrative – the old-now-and-flashback- I found particularly chopped up and annoying – as the point of the past narrative appeared to have been attenuated and deliberately left out so that the lead up to it could fill space, so though these passages showed angst, you had no clue what for until the end of the book. What could have been an excellent book was spoiled for me.
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The Tiger in the Smoke by Margery Allingham. Greenback English crime fiction 8/10 |
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By bookworm on
3/30/2008 11:17 AM
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The Tiger in the Smoke [First published 1952] is said to be Margery Allingham’s best novel, and it is certainly very much atmospheric and evocative of its early post-2nd world war time. So much of the action happens in the throes of a London smog, where the world shuts down for the traveller and dark deeds can be done openly. The plot is quite patchy, but the action makes up for it with gusto and lots of movement. Characters are her usual odd assortment of peculiar ruffians and heroes who obviously play cricket – and the weird Albert Campion who never seems to know what is going on until the end when he pretends her knew all along what was happening.
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The Shakespeare Secret by J.L. Carrell. Grail-search type novel 8/10 |
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By bookworm on
3/29/2008 5:20 PM
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JL Carrell’s The Shakespeare Secret [ISBN 978 0 7515 4035 2] is much like the Da Vinci Code without the religion and with the hazardous searching. The plot – looking as may be guessed for a lost Shakespeare play- might be though to be possible, but in the hands of this author is only risible and beyond the farthest fetched you could think of. Having said that, the narrative bowls along so quickly – with so many murders- it is easy to become hooked into finding out. If you can believe that a lost Shakespeare play could be found in a mine in New Mexico, then this is for you.
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The Skeleton in the Grass by Robert Barnard. English Crime Fiction 7/10 |
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By bookworm on
3/26/2008 2:47 PM
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The Skeleton in the Grass by Robert Barnard [ISBN 0 552 13479 1] is another easy-reading crime fiction from this author – and this one reminiscent of the backgrounds of Agatha Christie – 1930s idyllic upper-crust living with a murder. Impossible to guess the murderer – unlike Christie, Barnard doesn’t play fair – but it makes for suspense !
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Contact Zero by David Wolstencroft. Spy thriller 10/10 |
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By bookworm on
3/19/2008 1:03 PM
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Spooks author, David Wolstencroft’s Contact Zero [ISBN 0 340 83166 9] is excellent escapist adventure-spy-stuff. Though this is not my favourite genre, the book has a brilliant, brain-twisting plot, which proceeds through different complex layers in the most fascinating way. The reader just begins to think they are following what is happening when the gear changes again. The characters are reasonably rounded and not intrusive and the double narrative – past and now –interspersed in a painless way, not the usually irritating non sequitars.
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Blood Brotherhood by Robert Barnard. English Crime fiction 6/10 |
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By bookworm on
3/18/2008 3:58 PM
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Blood Brotherhood by Robert Barnard [ISBN 0 09 9528280 5] is another one of those idiosyncratic plots and a quite contrived but readable whodunit of a book. I like the short length of the books whicg mean, at least, the narrative moves well and keeps the plot going.
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A Fatal Attachment by Robert Barnard. Very English crime fiction 6/10 |
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By bookworm on
3/17/2008 8:58 AM
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Robert Barnard’s A Fatal Attachment [ISBN 0 552 13932 7] is a pleasant enough book. His plots are fine but not inspirational and his matter-of-fact narrative leads to a short and untaxing read. This book is better than some in that the characters are almost rounded if not engaging.
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Dirty Blonde by Lisa Scottoline. American Crime fiction 7/10 |
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By bookworm on
3/16/2008 9:09 AM
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Lisa Scottline’s Dirty Blonde [ISBN 978 0 330 44383 8] is her usual readable novel, though the plot is not especially brilliant, and the central character not particularly engaging, though the narrative rattles along with the usually well-designed suspense.
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Never Somewhere Else by Alex Gray. Tartan Noir crime fiction 8/10 |
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By bookworm on
3/9/2008 11:04 AM
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Alex Gray’s novel Never Somewhere Else [ISBN 1 84195 218 4] is another book featuring his detective DCI Lorimer and set in the streets, parks and galleries of Glasgow (in fact its quite a nice incidental tour). Gray’s prose is well-written, and though the plot is strangely familiar and the characters quite heavy, its is the quality of the narrative that makes the book.
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