Books - Book Aid
Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs. American crime fiction 8/10
Books By bookworm on 8/20/2008 9:55 AM
Like Patricia Cornwell, Kathy Reichs is a forensic anthropologist and so is her heroine, Temperance Brennan, but her books, and this one – Bones to Ashes- [ISBN 978 0 09 949236 8] particularly is much better than Cornwell of late. The science is excellent (sometimes rather laboured and over-detailed as if she MUST show her knowledge) and the plot good, but a little contrived in parts, though the narrative moves along OK.
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Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs. American crime fiction 8/10
Books By bookworm on 8/20/2008 9:55 AM
Like Patricia Cornwell, Kathy Reichs is a forensic anthropologist and so is her heroine, Temperance Brennan, but her books, and this one – Bones to Ashes- [ISBN 978 0 09 949236 8] particularly is much better than Cornwell of late. The science is excellent (sometimes rather laboured and over-detailed as if she MUST show her knowledge) and the plot good, but a little contrived in parts, though the narrative moves along OK.
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End Games by Michael Dibdin. Crime fiction 10/10
Books By bookworm on 8/18/2008 2:30 PM
End Games was Michael Dibdin’s last novel [ISBN 978 0 571 23617 6] and its one of his very best. Featuring Aurelio Zen, in Calabria, and giving a wonderfully clear and rich picture of Italian life from his perspective. As his final case, it’s a winner for plot, amusing ironic narrative and all-round ambiance.
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Bad Blood by Linda Fairstein. American crime fiction 8/10
Books By bookworm on 8/17/2008 8:25 AM
Linda Fairstein’s crime fiction novel Bad Blood [ISBN 978 0 7515 3807 6] is a fast-paced interesting read – not only is there a mystery that takes some unravelling – but you may well find out things about the bowels of New York you never thought about. The plot and ending are pretty good and the narrative moves along well. The main character and her two sidekicks do get rather anal and exclusive book by book.
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Harbor by Lorraine Adams. American thriller 8/10
Books By bookworm on 8/15/2008 8:54 AM
This book , Harbor by Lorraine Adams won the LA Times book award and you can see why [ISBN 1 84527 034 0] – its seriously deep and brilliantly written – and a powerful and sensitive social commentary on immigrant communities in the USA. It also looks into the nature of terrorism and motivation – it is fast paced and empathic – hard stuff to do.
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Nemesis by Bill Napier. Sci Fi thriller 6/10
Books By bookworm on 8/4/2008 9:03 AM
The science (or specifically Astronomy) in Bill Napier’s novels is convincing and authentic because he is, in fact, an astronomer, but the science is perhaps the best part of his novel Nemesis [ISBN 0 7472 5993 3]. The plot has several double blinds, which is quite clever, but doesn’t convince as much as it should. The narrative is exciting and quite pacy, though the characterisations and dialogue I found not particularly lively, though scientists could well be as lacklustre as this and talk all the time in mathematical speak. They could well do that.
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The Intruders by Michael Marshall. American thriller 8/10
Books By bookworm on 8/3/2008 8:19 AM
Michael Marshall wrote the very creepy The Straw Men and its sequels and this book, The Intruders [ISBN 978 0 00 720997 2] has a very similar feel. Its brilliantly put together, unguessable plot, tight quickly-moving narrative that keeps you on the end of the seat, and a scary mystery at the heart which makes this not a first choice for bedtime reading for the nervous.
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Counter Parts by Gonzalo Lire. American thriller 9/10
Books By bookworm on 7/31/2008 12:08 PM
I hadn’t heard of this author before but Counter Parts by Gonzalo Lire [ISBN 0 575 60241 4] is a very good read indeed. A plot heavy with strange goings-on in the CIA and paid assassins is put together with maximum tension and features some interesting multi-dimensional characters (how many all-too human gun-toting nuns have you read about recently ?)
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The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Gloomy American Literary fiction 5/10.
Books By bookworm on 7/30/2008 10:49 AM
Cormac McCarthy’s novel The road [ISBN 978 0 307 38789 9] is a post-Apolcalypse story well conceived, imaginative and well written – but it is relentlessly downbeat and quite repetitive in tone and overall I found it a deeply depressing view of human nature.
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Shadow of the Silk Road by Colin Thubron. Travel non-fiction 10/10
Books By bookworm on 7/29/2008 2:50 PM
Colin Thubron’s book Shadow of the Silk Road [ISBN 978 0 099 43722 2] is an account of his journey following the major towns and cities of the old silk route across Asia. It is most beautifully written – his prose is a joy to read, and it is a fascinating and humorous reflection of the different ways the people he meets think about the world.
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The Exception by Christian Jungerson. Danish Literary Murder Mystery 9/10
Books By bookworm on 7/24/2008 9:07 AM
Christian Jungerson’s novel The Exception [ISBN 978 0 7538 2166 4] is a seriously clever book, psychologically powerful and quite unnerving. On the surface its about relationships in a small office, but it develops and grows in sheer nastiness and underhand dangerous games. It is gripping and addictive.
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The Overlook by Michael Connelly. American Crime fiction 10/10
Books By bookworm on 7/23/2008 4:05 PM
Michael Connelly is a master of crime fiction writing of this kind – and The Overlook is one of his best [ISBN 978 0 7528 8273 4]. His detective, Harry Bosch is as edgy and difficult as ever, and the plot is excellent and very topical – he has to suffer working with the FBI and Homeland Security – and the book is over much too quickly. Brilliant.
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Nothing to Fear by Karen Rose. American thriller 9/10
Books By bookworm on 7/22/2008 8:55 AM
Karen Rose’s thriller Nothing to Fear [ISBN 978 0 7553 3703 3 ] an edge of the seat read. Not only does it have an excellent plot that’s a bit different from the run-of-the-mill abduction, but its split narrative is really well planned so it doesn’t stop moving the action forward whilst adding enough suspense. As well as this there is a pretty corny Mills and Boonish love interest (all flashing eyes and pounding hearts) threaded through the narrative that gets more and more steamy. This adds its own suspense.
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The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh. Indian Literary fiction 8/10
Books By bookworm on 7/20/2008 1:16 PM
Amitav Ghosh wrote the Glass Palace and his latest novel (or at least the latest I’ve read) The Hungry Tide [ISBN 0 00 714178-5] is a most thoughtful and moving story. Set in Bengal – that strange archipelago of islands always threatened by flood, the Sundarbans, it has a double narrative of past and present which is fascinating and quite haunting.
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The Venetian Betrayal by Steve Berry. Another Grail-search type thriller 7/10
Books By bookworm on 7/19/2008 2:50 PM
Steve Berry’s novel The Venetian Betrayal [ISBN 978 0 340 933442] is a heavy book and can be quite heavy-going at times. Like its predecessors (Da Vinci Code et al) it depends on how credulous the reader is able to be (and a great deal more credulous than The Da Vinci Code I can tell you). Its got quite a complex plot (albeit quite silly) but is quite an enjoyable read as the action moves pleasantly along for most of the time (and as book this size you can always skip the odd paragraph).
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Persuader by Lee Child. American thriller 8/10
Books By bookworm on 7/17/2008 12:52 PM
Lee Child’s novel Persuader [ISBN 0553 81344 7] is as OTT as his other Jack Reacher stories, but just as enjoyable. No messy narratives, no annoying botched red herrings, just a superbly written fast-flowing story with the flashbacks cleverly stitched into the story and not just inexpertly glued on. Reacher is, of course, quite an impossible character, but the reader is willing to suspend disbelief and follow the (rather brutal) action. –but it’s not real is it?
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Shatter by Michael Robotham. British thriller 7/10
Books By bookworm on 7/16/2008 9:20 AM
On the whole Michael Robotham’s Shatter [ISBN 978 1 84744 177 5] is a very well-written and powerful novel. Its psychological brainwashing-type theme is believable, with the perpetrator half-hidden from the reader, and the unlikely sleuth – vulnerable Parkinson-sufferer with marital problems- somewhat distracted and yet obsessed- which makes for all kinds of undercurrents and themes. It is quite creepy and is not ideal bedtime reading.
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Extreme Measures by Michael Palmer. American medical thriller 6/10
Books By bookworm on 7/15/2008 10:02 AM
Michael Palmer’s thriller Extreme Measures [ISBN 0 09 972721 8] is not a bad read as its type goes – sinister medical plots based around money saving schemes in big hospitals – but given the popularity of the topic in USA novels it makes you wonder if the American system is safe ! Given that it is cheaper to finish off the odd patient rather than cure them it could be worrying ! However, the plot is convoluted enough and our innocent hero blunders about giving the reader concern that he won’t make the end of the book. But he does.
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Poisoned Cherries by Quintin Jardine. Scottish crime fiction 7/10
Books By bookworm on 7/14/2008 12:41 PM
This book says on the cover “an Oz Blackstone mystery” – though it’s the first one of Jardine’s novels featuring him as an amateur sleuth I have read. Poisoned Cherries [ISBN 0 7553 3425 6] is much more fun than his Skinner novels sank into (such complicated personal histories) though Oz Blackstone the film star is a tongue in the cheek as it gets and mixes with a very rarified kind of folk– but perhaps Edinburgh is like that. It has a good plot, however stretched, good atmospheric stuff set in Edinburgh and a straightforward narrative.
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Pompeii by Robert Harris. Historical re-enactment 7/10
Books By bookworm on 7/10/2008 2:02 PM
Robert Harris’s historical novel Pompeii [ISBN 978 0 09 928261 7] is a well-researched and exciting re-enactment of the eruption of Vesuvius in 49BC which buried Pompeii and Herculaneum. It quite brilliantly sets up tension and the narrative speeds along to the known conclusion – it is, however, nail biting and has masterly twists of plot so that you don’t’ know which of the focussed characters will survive.
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Lost Souls by Neil White. English noir fiction 8/10
Books By bookworm on 7/9/2008 2:51 PM
Neil White’s Lost Souls [ISBN 978-1-84756-018-6] was another quite-difficult-to get into book for me. Its those choppy narratives again – though these are better done than most, there is such a tendency to introduce a myriad of unrelated information in the first few chapters, that the reader can lose focus. It is also quite downbeat, even though the northern context is interesting, it sets a quite bleak background to the story, though the plot is not bad, the readers’ beliefs are stretched somewhat at times.
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The Society by Michael Palmer. American crime/thriller 5/10
Books By bookworm on 7/7/2008 12:05 PM
Michael Palmer’s novel The society [ISBN 0 09 946357 1] starts off well – smart and pacy, with lots of action introducing a serial killer targeting executives in the American healthcare industry. The plot is just too complicated which leads to action fatigue long before I got to the halfway mark .
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Dear Tom: Letters from Home by Tom Courtenay. Autobiography/letters 10/10
Books By bookworm on 7/6/2008 12:58 PM
This is Tom Courtenay’s first book – not just an autobiography of his early life, but a window onto his relationship with his mother. Dear Tom: Letters from Home [ISBN 0 552 99926 1] is a collection of letters written by his mother to him during the time he was at University and at RADA. Courtenay himself has contextualised the letters with a sensitive and accomplished, well-crafted account of his childhood through to the early death of his mother.
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The Lollipop Shoes by Joanne Harris. Of Chocolat fame 4/10
Books By bookworm on 6/29/2008 3:36 PM
Joanne Harris’s The Lollipop Shoes [ISBN 978 0 55277 315 7] is a kind of follow-on from Chocolat, and if you liked that you probably will like this. I found it rather twee and tedious and never made the end.
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The Unquiet by John Connolly. American Crime fiction 7/10
Books By bookworm on 6/28/2008 8:43 AM
John Connolly’s The Unquiet [ISBN 978 0 340 92051] took quite a lot of getting into – it is quite dense and nothing much happened at the outset. It’s a brooding, unsettling kind of book, with no little light along the way. Not a bad plot, and the narrative eventually gets going. Quite turgid characters, though he does a good line in heavies and baddies.
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Rat Run by Gerald Seymour. British thriller/adventure 8/10
Books By bookworm on 6/22/2008 2:37 PM
Not only does Gerald Seymour write classy adventure/thriller fiction, he also is excels at satisfying endings and Rat Run [ISBN 978 0 552 15342 3] follows this model. A story of redemption that has many twists and turns making it an addictive read. The flashbacks written in italics are only a minor annoyance –they don’t always add very much to the on-going narrative.
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Losing You by Nicci French. British Crime fiction 8/10
Books By bookworm on 6/21/2008 9:01 AM
Nicci French is, in my opinion, an accomplished fiction writer, and this book Losing You [ISBN 978 0 141 03541 3] has a good plot, a straightforward, narrative that moves along quite well. Characters are pretty well drawn without being tedious as well. However, it has my most unfavourite story topic – a child abduction, which so upsets and unsettles me I read the book with little pleasure and lots of dread.
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The Tin Roof Blowdown by James Lee Burke 8/10
Books By bookworm on 6/18/2008 3:28 PM
James Lee Burke’s novel The Tin Roof Blowdown [ISBN 978 0 7538 2317 0] is a continuation of his excellent Dave Robicheaux’s stories set in a bayou near New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath. It has the usual mix of dubious and interesting characters, though the plot was fine I did find the narrative quite difficult to get into for the first part of the book.
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The Next Accident by Lisa Gardner. American Crime fiction 8/10.
Books By bookworm on 6/14/2008 3:02 PM
Lisa Gardener’s novel The Next Accident [ISBN 978 1 4070 1309 5] is another novel featuring Rainie Conner as Investigator and her ex-more-than-colleague Pierce Quincy (though this is as ambivalent as relationships get). The book has a good pacy narrative and lots of red herrings as usual.
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Dead Cold by Louise Penny. Canadian crime fiction 9/10
Books By bookworm on 6/13/2008 3:15 PM
This is the first time I’ve read a book by Louise Penny –and I’ll be looking at others besides Dead Cold [ISBN 978 0 7553 2893 2] because its such a well-written book. It has an excellent, quite clever plot, and a wonderful context – winter and Christmas in Quebec – an excellent sleuth – Chief Inspector Gamache – and a whole load of rounded and fascinating characters – as well as a pacy narrative.
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Dead Cold by Louise Penny. Canadian crime fiction 9/10
Books By bookworm on 6/13/2008 3:15 PM
This is the first time I’ve read a book by Louise Penny –and I’ll be looking at others besides Dead Cold [ISBN 978 0 7553 2893 2] because its such a well-written book. It has an excellent, quite clever plot, and a wonderful context – winter and Christmas in Quebec – an excellent sleuth – Chief Inspector Gamache – and a whole load of rounded and fascinating characters – as well as a pacy narrative.
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Bad Luck and Trouble by Lee Child. Amercian crime fiction 7/10
Books By bookworm on 6/12/2008 7:26 AM
Another Lee Child novel in the Jack Reacher series, Bad Luck and Trouble [ISBN 978 0 553 81810 9] follows a similar theme to the others – larger than life Reacher just happening to encounter a wrong that needs righting or someone who needs help from him and his toothbrush (the only thing her carries with him). Reads easily and well through the growing mountain of bodies he and his friends dispose of.
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The Seventh Sacrament by David Hewson. Eurocrime 7/10
Books By bookworm on 6/10/2008 3:04 PM
I have really liked David Hewson’s series of novels, set in Rome, with cops Costa, Peroni and Falconi, even though the plots do tend to be complicated and dense, and this latest, the Seventh Sacrament [ISBN 978 0 330 43395 6] is no exception. With a context of the underground city beneath Rome, the split narrative winds backwards and forwards from the past to present day, keeping the reader guessing all the way through – the problem with this kind of narrative, though, is that is it easy to lose the plot in more ways than one. However, a clever book, quite challenging to the reader.
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What Came Before He Shot Her by Elizabeth George. British Crime fiction 10/10
Books By bookworm on 5/28/2008 11:50 AM
Elizabeth George just gets better and better, this latest novel What Came Before He Shot Her [ISBN 978 0 340 93557 6] is quite remarkable. Telling a quite heartbreaking story of the life of an innocent young boy trying, even through the most chaotic of lifestyles, to protect his vulnerable brother for the tough life, and the problems this leads him into. The characters draw you in, the narrative is tight and compelling, and the reader is led into knowing about lives and ways of living few will have realised.
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What Came Before He Shot Her by Elizabeth George. British Crime fiction 10/10
Books By bookworm on 5/28/2008 11:50 AM
Elizabeth George just gets better and better, this latest novel What Came Before He Shot Her [ISBN 978 0 340 93557 6] is quite remarkable. Telling a quite heartbreaking story of the life of an innocent young boy trying, even through the most chaotic of lifestyles, to protect his vulnerable brother for the tough life, and the problems this leads him into. The characters draw you in, the narrative is tight and compelling, and the reader is led into knowing about lives and ways of living few will have realised.
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Never Say Die by Tess Gerritson. American Mystery fiction 8/10
Books By bookworm on 5/27/2008 1:52 PM
Tess Gerritson’s novel Never Say Die [ISBN 13 978 0 7783 0114 1 ] has a different kind of story line – a daughter searching for her father lost in Vietnam – and so gives an unusual interest and twist to the tale of skulduggery and political underhandedness. Characterisations are reasonable and the developing relationship between the two main characters adds a frisson of interest, but Gerritson never allows it to sideline the plot.
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Dead Heat by Caroline Carver. Crime fiction 7/10
Books By bookworm on 5/25/2008 10:34 AM
Carolyn Carver’s novel set in Australia, Dead Heat [ISBN 0 75285 917 X] has a fair plot with many twists and turns which makes for a pretty complex kind of process – and the narrative reveals terrifying ordeal after ordeal for our hapless heroine. Its another of those relentless books that never allows you to take a breath. Deep characterisations often get in the way of a pacy read, and that is probably why I don’t now remember much about them.
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Book of the Dead by Patricia Cornwell. American Crime fiction 2/10
Books By bookworm on 5/24/2008 2:44 PM
I cannot give Patricia Cornwell’s novel Book of the Dead [ISBN 976 0 7515 3405 4] any higher score than this as I did not get past chapter three and a half – and I’d already lost the will to live with the complexities built into the plot. Cornwell has had so much happening in each of her books that the need to put even more complications and bizarre personal happenings gets greater each time. I skipped along to find out what happened and still didn’t have a clue when I knew who did it.
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From Heaven Lake by Vikram Seth. Travel non-fiction 8/10
Books By bookworm on 5/23/2008 2:30 PM
Written about a journey taken in the summer of 1981, From Heaven Lake by Vikram Seth [ISBNB 07089 1290 7] tells of his journey from Nanjing to Delhi. It is a fascinating account of the politics and problems of the region, and does not sound so very different than it would do now, I feel.
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Uninvited by Richard House. Noir Literary fiction 5/10
Books By bookworm on 5/21/2008 8:46 AM
It is certainly true to say that Uninvited by Richard House [ISBN 1 85242 785 5] is well almost evocatively written, though it is a bleak, depressing and unrelieved view of an urban lifestyle of a gay man on the breadline and without much of a chance to rise above it (or even the aspiration). The central character’s life starts and ends in the same uncertain place.
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Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult. American literary fiction 8/10
Books By bookworm on 5/20/2008 5:22 PM
Jodi Picoult specialises in books written around dilemmas and deep issues, and I have found her sometimes tedious when an issue is stretched beyond its elastic point. However, Plain Truth [ISBN 0 340 83547 8] is much better than some – it is not just suspenseful with a central mystery but the context – it is set in the Amish Community in Pennsylvania – makes it an interesting and absorbing read.
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Savage Moon by Chris Simms. British crime fiction 6/10
Books By bookworm on 5/15/2008 6:36 PM
I would have given Savage Moon – this crime fiction novel by Chris Simms [ISBN 978 0 75288 930 6] a much higher score had I found the plot outcome just a little more believable. Not that this matters for most of the book as the story is so very well put together – the suspense is held through a skilful narrative and police procedural. I did, however, find the hero’s wife’s post natal depression interfering with the investigation really annoying – which all goes to show how well the characterisations were put together.
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The Landscape of Love by Sally Beauman. British Literary fiction 8/10
Books By bookworm on 5/12/2008 8:21 AM
Sally Beauman’s novel The Landscape of Love [ISBN 0 7515 3687 3] has as its centre an enigmatic mystery amongst other mysteries gently and cleverly unfolded – in a sad tale about three sisters and their relationships with each other and others.
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Body Surfing by Anita Shreve American literary fiction 7/10
Books By bookworm on 5/8/2008 8:31 AM
Anita Shreve’s novel Body Surfing [978 0 369 11901 6] will please her fans, but really just comes over as pleasant easy reading to me. Say, the posh person’s Mills and Boon. Its worth reading to the end, and has a nice feel and context (East coast USA on the beach) but the people, even though roundly written ,don’t capture my empathy or make me identify with them – even the heroine is rather limp. However, not bad weekend reading I suppose.
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Immoral by Brian Freeman American Crime fiction 6/10
Books By bookworm on 5/7/2008 8:04 AM
Brian Freeman’s crime fiction novel Immoral [ISBN 978 0 7553 4443 7] is a literate, nicely written novel with a quite complicated storyline with strange plot grenades that smoked for a while and then didn’t quite bang – though there was always continuing suspense. However, the complicated plot often did it no favours and at times it became quite tedious. I felt like saying “Come on, get on with it !”
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The Steep Approach to Garbadale by Iain Banks. Literary fiction 10/10
Books By bookworm on 5/5/2008 8:33 AM
I’ve never been such a fan of Iain Banks, but this latest novel The Steep Approach to Garbadale [ISBN 978 0 349 11928 1] is certainly the best of his I’ve read. The book is centered around a deep family mystery and follows the life of a young man as he stumbles his way to adulthood enabling him to track down the secrets of his past. Lovely characterisations. Though you think you can guess the ending, you can’t, quite – a good twist.
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Scared to Live by Stephen Booth. British crime fiction 10/10
Books By bookworm on 5/4/2008 8:24 AM
Stephen Booth’s crime fiction novel Scared to Live [ISBN 978 0 00 780840 3] is one of the best crime fiction books I’ve read this year. The context and atmosphere are so well laid down, the plot is very, very clever, the characters beautifully drawn and multi-dimensional (especially the edgy, insensitive DS Fry) whilst the narrative unwinds subtly the process of the investigation. This is one to keep and read again.
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The Watchman by Robert Crais. American crime fiction 9/10
Books By bookworm on 5/3/2008 6:20 PM
Robert Crais’ thriller The Watchman [ISBN 978 0 7528 8191 1] features the enigmatic Joe Pike as lead character (with Elvis Cole as subsidiary). It is well plotted with a quickly moving narrative with lots of tension and suspense. Its not War and Peace, but is a nice well-written read.
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Exile by Richard North Patterson. American jumbo thriller crime.legal fiction 6/10
Books By bookworm on 5/2/2008 3:06 PM
The jacket blurbs of Exile by Richard North Patterson [ISBN 978 0 330 44013 4] say how important a book this is – because of the topic matter, no doubt – relationship of a Palestinian woman and Jewish American man caught up in terrorist politics. However, worthy though it is, it is a big heavy book with a big heavy plot, and unfortunately confirming many stereotypes of Muslims and without illuminating why the characters behave as they do. The overused, rather turgid, split narrative wends its way backwards and forwards from bedroom scenes in the past to the same or slow moving action in the present. Those new to the Israeli –Palestinian conflict may gain some insights, however.
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A Connoiseur’s Case by Michael Innes. Vintage greenback British crime fiction 5/10
Books By bookworm on 5/1/2008 8:43 AM
Though A Connoiseur’s Case is a later Michael Innes [First published 1962] it isn’t one of his best – it is of its time, but some of the class assumptions – the forelock touching m’lord stuff does seem increasingly dated. Mind you, a plethora of novelists have had a Lord for a detective. The plot is, as usual, pretty contrived, which means the reader is kept guessing, though the narrative kind of trails along in a pastoral easy going kind of way and nobody gets hot under the collar over the death of a …. servant. Appleby solves it for a kind of dare, so that’s all right.
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