Books - Book Aid
The Sleeper by Holly Roth. Vintage American Greenback fiction 7/10
Books By bookworm on 12/31/2007 10:22 AM
Holly Roth’s The Sleeper (Penguin first pub 1955) is surprisingly modern in feel, without the stilted dialogue and wooden characters that typify British crime fiction of this age. The plot is good – and the narrative hold good suspense all the way through – only the ending is a little weak after all that build up. Interesting characters set up by the plot.
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The Dead Hour by Denise Mina. Scottish Noir crime fiction 10/10
Books By bookworm on 12/30/2007 11:27 AM
Denise Mina’s crime fiction novel The Dead Hour [ISBN 978 0 553 81560 3] is the first of her books that I’ve read, but she has written another six books featuring Paddy Meehan, the journalist before this one. It’s a pity I will have to read them out of order as this can be very confusing, but read them I will. Mina is just brilliant: the plot is, of itself, nothing extraordinary, but the way that Mina weaves the rich context of the background (the seamy side of Glasgow) with the reality and thickness of her characters makes them come alive to the reader and engaging their sympathy or dislike. The double narrative is not intrusive as this is not a story chopped up like many literary butcher, but simultaneous happenings that the reader can quickly weave into the plot. Go out and buythis now !
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The Murmur of Stones by Thomas H Cook. Mystery thriller 8/10
Books By bookworm on 12/29/2007 11:20 AM
Thomas H Cook’s mystery thriller The Murmur of Stones [ISBN 10 1 84724 071 2] is well-written with an unusual structure that intrigues the reader and keeps one guessing. The central issue is given in glimpses, in snippets and not really revealed until the end – a method that often annoys me – but this is very well written. The narrative consist of two strands, both first person by the story narrator: the first strand a reflection on the meaning of issues as discussed with a sympathetic policeman and the second a flashback of particular incidents illustrating the first. You feel you can anticipate the ending –but this changes as the novel proceeds. Clever book.
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Glass Tiger by Joe Gores. American spy thriller 7/10
Books By bookworm on 12/28/2007 2:43 PM
Joe Gores novel Glass Tiger [ISBN 10 1 84724 072 0] is quite a good read (in spite of being one of those American novels involving that strange almost mythical organisation the CIA). The plot appears straightforward but has some nice quirks, and despite the subject matter the narrative quite zips along, and the characterisations have moments of interest, though they are a little formulaic.
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Depths by Henning Mankell. Rather strange fiction 5/10
Books By bookworm on 12/19/2007 8:03 PM
The two other Mankell fans I know also found this book seriously weird (after getting used to Kurt Wallender this came as a surprise). Henning Mankell’s Depths [ISBN 978 0 099 48865 1] reads as an author’s obsession – nothing less would drive the research this book must have taken. It has little plot as such, but a convoluted story. The atmosphere is heavy and full of angst of the mentally out of sync person, and as I read the book it had almost a hypnotic effect –
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The Dead Place by Stephen Booth. Crime fiction 7/10
Books By bookworm on 12/16/2007 10:34 AM
Stephen Booth’s crime fiction novel The Dead Place [ISBN 0 00 717208 7] is another book that is only good in parts. The plot appears, at the outset, much better than it is, and not a little derivative. The narrative (apart from the extensive convoluted quotes from the murderer’s tapes) does move along quite well, and the two main characters are sympathetically drawn. I was tempted to skip wodges of it, but did read it to the end.
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All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren. American classic fiction 7/10
Books By bookworm on 12/15/2007 10:24 AM
This 1946 book has been recently republished as it has been made into a film starring Sean Penn, Jude Law and Kate Winslet. Robert Penn Warren’s book, All the King’s Men [0 141 02696 0] is a significant novel about American politics, by a three times Pulitzer prize winner and America’s first poet laureate. It is a free-flowing, heavy-duty book with quite amazingly crafted characters which could only be part of the fluid American political process. Of its age, it is not politically correct, but has more honestly for that. I didn’t find the book easy to read – its density meant I had to read it over several days, and each time I picked it up again I needed to re-read the last chapter to pick up the nuances of the story.
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Last Known Victim by Erica Spindler. American Crime fiction 6/10
Books By bookworm on 12/13/2007 9:51 AM
Erica Spindler’s crime fiction novel Last Known Victim [ISBN 978 0 7783 0162 2] I found very patchy. The plot appears to be interesting, though the first half is much tighter than the second; the narrative intersperses pacy action with long interminable sections where there is plenty of action but no movement in the plot. The characters are spotty – for some there is more spurious detail than the plot needs and others seem to be not quite there yet.
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Snow Blind by P J Tracy. American crime fiction 9/10
Books By bookworm on 12/9/2007 3:59 PM
P J Tracy’s crime fiction novel Snow Blind [ISBN 978 0 141 01922 2] was a really good read. The plot grips from the outset and the pacy narrative gets hold and keeps you interested – and it has a particularly skilled denouement and resolution with unguessable twists. What I most like was the atmospheric context – I’m always a sucker for winter tales and this one, Minnesota in the snow transports the reader right into that world and you can feel yourself freezing along with the characters.
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Temporary Sanity by Rose Connors. American courtroom fiction 8/10
Books By bookworm on 12/8/2007 7:04 PM
Rose Connors legal crime fiction novel Temporary Sanity [ISBN 0 7499 3498 0] is much better than you are led to believe by the initial premise of the story. The plot is very good indeed – and as the courtroom drama appears to be open-and-shut with no wriggle room it is amazing how Connors develops the story in a believable way. The writing is tight and authentic, and the characterisations, whilst not particularly well developed, do not hijack the plot or irritate the reader.
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The Divide by Nicholas Evans. American Literary/mystery fiction 9/10
Books By bookworm on 12/7/2007 1:49 PM
Author of the Horse Whisperer, Nicholas Evans, has written this excellent novel The Divide [ISBN 0 7515 3934 1] with a similar feel. The story (rather than plot) is interesting and made compelling by the way the narrative is structured. I usually don’t like chopped up narratives because they seem to be gratuitously snipped up with little thought – but in The Divide the narrative is masterly – the story moves along naturally and easily........
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A Passion for Killing by Barbara Nadel. Turkish crime fiction 9/10
Books By bookworm on 11/25/2007 2:14 PM
Barbara Nadel is one of my favourite authors – she may not be the best crime writer, but the atmosphere of her stories set in Turkey featuring Inspector Ikmen are brilliant, and this one, A Passion for Killing [ISBN 978 0 7553 2134 6] is her latest and is no exception. The plot is nicely convoluted and the context (around specialist Turkish carpets) quite fascinating. What makes it as usual is the humanity and intelligence of the central character, the chain-smoking family centred Ikmen, and his side kick Suleyman now with his estranged marriage repaired.
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Dark House by Theresa Monsour. American Crime fiction 7/10
Books By bookworm on 11/22/2007 9:12 AM
Theresa Monsour’s crime thriller Dark House [ISBN 0 7515 3821 3] is a well-written story, with an above-average plot. The split narrative moves the story along along well, though the characters are clunky and not always believable. What made the book for me was the atmospheric background of Minnesota in winter, with a world shut down with cold and the limits this puts on people’s lives. The author ekes out the suspense and though the ending is not unexpected, the reader has to work for it.
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The Darkness Inside by John Rickards. American Crime fiction 8/10
Books By bookworm on 11/19/2007 6:39 PM
John Rickard’s crime fiction novel, The Darkness Inside [ISBN 978 0 141 01116 4] is a pretty good read overall. The plot is refreshingly original, with a number of surprising twists and turns, especially the ending whilst the narrative is straightforward and brisk Only the characters are a little lacklustre – I know authors can’t make their detectives too bright or they would find stuff out too soon, but sometimes you can get annoyed at the slow way their thinking works !
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Tai Pan by James Clavell. Historical world fiction 6/10
Books By bookworm on 11/17/2007 9:40 AM
I’ve scored Tai Pan, this historical fiction-based-on-historical-fact-ish novel by James Clavell as a 6 only because of its residual interest in an area of history (the formation of Hong Kong) I knew little about. However, it would have been more productive to read a non-fiction history, I feel. The book is a very dense narrative peopled with two dimensional characters who are either pretty bad or insipidly good. And it is very long and can become very tedious if one tries to finish it quickly. If you have a boring weekend ahead, it may be worth your while.
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A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini Literary World fiction 7/10
Books By bookworm on 11/14/2007 1:18 PM
Khaled Hosseini, author of the wonderful but (I found) depressing novel The Kite Runner, has written a second book with a background of Afganistan under the Taliban, A Thousand Splendid Suns [ISBN 978 0 7475 8297 7]. Not quite as wrenching a tale as The Kite Runner, but this book is still very negative about Afganistan under the Taliban, though the story line is much more positive. The narrative is quite enthralling and the reader easily becomes engaged in the (sad) lives of the characters. It is, however, a story primarily about love and friendship between women, and therefore has many enlightening aspects
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Sovereign by C J Sansom. Historical crime fiction 10/10
Books By bookworm on 11/12/2007 9:25 AM
C J Samsom’s Historical crime fiction book Sovereign [ISBN 978 0 330 43608 3] is the very best book of its type I have read. Set, like Philippa Gregory’s books, in the time of the Tudors, but this book surpasses Gregory in every way. Set at the time of Henry VIII’s major progress to York with Catherine Howard this book paints the story of life at the time, the problems of long journeys, and, indeed conveys the huge logistical issues of a progress with the court and an army to feed and house along the way. This was a delightful and engaging backdrop. However, the plot – taken in accurate historical context- is fascinating and believable, and the narrative – through the first person account of a lawyer, the hunchback Shardlake, reveals a side of history we rarely think about. The narrative is compelling, subtle and convincing, and the story grips from the first page to the last. I shall be tracking down his other books after this.
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The Sacred Cut by David Hewson. Crime fiction 10/10
Books By bookworm on 11/11/2007 10:30 AM
David Hewson’s crime fiction novel the Sacred Cut [ISBN 0 330 49367 1] is just so good that (unusually for me) I read it over a period of days rather than glopping it down all at once, because the atmospheric narrative just begs to be savoured. As his other novels featuring Nic Costa and his cronies, it is set in Italy, this one in Rome, and, unusually, during an unusual winter snow – this together gives the atmosphere a rather surreal feel – entering the Pantheon at night during a snow storm conjures up a powerful multi-sensory image – the Pantheon is cold enough at any time with its curious hole in the dome. The plot is tortuous and clever, and the characters (apart from the Americans who seem to be cast as weirdos) encouraging the reader’s empathy. Good ending, excellent suspense.
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Exit Music by Ian Rankin. Edinburgh Noir crime fiction 10/10
Books By bookworm on 11/9/2007 9:29 AM
Nobody quite gets the feel of Edinburgh like Ian Rankin AND brilliant story lines and characters, though in Exit Music [ISBN 978 0 7528 6860 8] Rankin has brought Rebus up to his retirement – though he hasn’t killed him off he has left a door open for a resurrection. The plot is, as usual, so well thought out, and the narrative bites into you – and nobody builds a character like Rankin does. Rebus is always edgy, never boring, and strangely attractive (though my image of him has been squashed by the two actors playing him in the TV series, he is so much better than portrayed isn’t he ?)
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Mission Canyon by Meg Gardiner. American Crime fiction 8/10
Books By bookworm on 11/8/2007 3:07 PM
Mission Canyon by Meg Gardiner [ISBN 978 0 340 82252 4] is the best American Crime fiction novel I’ve read for some time. One of the series featuring Evan Delaney, this book has a tight plot with a twist of an ending, with a really racy, well written fast-moving narrative that keeps the reader focused and interested. The two main male characters are the least attractive part of the novel, though, indeed they fit into their parts OK – but they appear to be rather feeble and whingy and out of control at the wrong times. But that’s just my opinion !
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The Virgin’s Lover by Phillipa Gregory. Historical fiction 7/10
Books By bookworm on 11/7/2007 4:36 PM
I have liked Phillipa Gregory’s series of books on the Tudors (search this blog), but the stories are becoming a little thinner. The Virgin’s Lover by Phillipa Gregory [CN 132067] tells the story of Elizabeth 1st and her relationship with Robert Dudley, and though she has given a slight twist to the story in parts, the story is well known and really tells little new. Except, for me her depiction of Robert Dudley as aggressive and unpleasant is not how I take his character – and I did take the time to read again a couple of history books just to check – so the book obviously engaged my attention.
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Guardian of the Dawn by Richard Zimler. Literary/Historical fiction 5/10
Books By bookworm on 10/31/2007 11:43 AM
Richard Zimler’s novel Guardian of the Dawn [ISBN 1 84529091 7] is one of those well-researched books that tell you a great deal you didn’t know about a particular time and place in the past whilst depressing you again over the vagaries of human nature. Set in the 16th in Portugese Goa it tells the story of the Catholic Inquisition scything their way through the colony’s Hindus or Jews. However, as well as a heavy plot, the ragbag of characters are uniformly unpleasant and untrustworthy, and the narrative is very slow in many parts
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Bone Mountain by Eliot Pattison. Crime fiction 9/10
Books By bookworm on 10/29/2007 10:11 AM
Eliot Pattison’s crime fiction novel Bone Mountain [ISBN 0 09 942206 9] is unusual and absorbing: set in Tibet and full of Tibetan and Buddhist legends and beliefs it also has an intriguing plot – which continues to mystify and interest the reader throughout the book – the narrative is convoluted and often gripping and the reader becomes involved with the lives of these strange characters – and comes to appreciate the major tragedies of the Tibetan people so much more powerfully than a direct factual account. A terrific ending.
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Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamandia Ngozi Adichie. Literary fiction 6/10
Books By bookworm on 10/24/2007 9:29 AM
Chimamandia Ngozi Adichie’s novel Half of a Yellow Sun [ISBN 978 0 00 720028 3] is set against the Biafran/Nigerian war in the 1960s, and is told through the different viewpoints of three characters. Even though the book is written in novel form (chopped up time lines, switching narratives) I felt it would have been more effective as a straight story (and even as non-fiction) – as is was, the author can abrogate responsibility for what the characters do or say – and fail to give any kind of real analysis for causes or even views or visions for ways forward for Nigeria. I found the story turgid and heavy, and hard to get through the literary devices chopping up the narrative.
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Alice in Jeopardy by Ed Mc Bain. Crime thriller 8/10
Books By bookworm on 10/23/2007 1:46 PM
Not like his precinct stories but his novel Alice in Jeopardy [ISBN 978 1 4072 1698 1] benefits from this veteran author’s skill in plotting and dribbling his narrative to keep you interested. This type of plot (abductions) are not my favourite as the outcomes are so few, but Ed McBain manages to string this out superbly.
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Birdman by Mo Hayder. Gruesome crime fiction 7/10
Books By bookworm on 10/22/2007 9:02 AM
Mo Hayder’s serial-killer novel Birdman [ISBN 0 553 81265 3] is very well plotted – with the narrative intense and quite skilful with drawn-out suspense but, as the jacket blurb quoting Val McDermid says “Not for the faint hearted”. I must admit this book is more gruesome than my eclectic comfort level is set at.
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Winter’s End by John Rickards. Crime fiction 10/10
Books By bookworm on 10/19/2007 8:39 AM
John Rickard’s debut novel Winter’s End [ISBN 0 141 01127 0] is just brilliant. The plot is very clever indeed, and impossible to second guess, it starts with a chilling puzzle and the narrative moves forward sinuously, gripping the reader and drawing you in. It is particularly well written, and the context and background – a small town, Winter’s End, in Maine in winter – is fascinating. The characters peopling this little town add to the fascination, and the denouement is very good indeed, though I did get a whisper of a feeling of what would happen - but not until the author decided to unwrap a few red herrings.
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Carte Blanche by Carlo Lucarelli. Eurocrime-“Italian Noir” 8/10
Books By bookworm on 10/15/2007 9:00 AM
Carte Blanche by Carlo Lucarelli [ISBN 1-93337215-x] is the first of a trilogy, and I’m going to have to track down the other two. I think it was his first novel and, if so, it indicates all the promise he shows later in Almost Blue. Its not so much the plotting that makes this novel, but the fascinating context (Italy, just at the end of WW2) and the characters all somehow fashioned from their wartime experiences and roles. The narrative holds the reader enthralled. It will be interesting to see where the second book of the trilogy leads.
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Mercy by David Lindsey. Crime fiction 9/10
Books By bookworm on 10/12/2007 8:33 AM
David Lindsey’s serial-murder crime fiction novel Mercy [ISBN 0 7515 0239 1] is written by a master-plotter – the plot is so good it leads you convincingly down so many dead-ends that the final denouement gives a surprise ending. This book is a long one, and such books often wilt in patches, but not this one – the narrative remains fresh and adsorbing throughout. The characters are believable and have some depth – and though slightly dysfunctional (which seems to be par for detectives) do act intelligently and purposefully. I dropped it a point in the score because of the gratuitous gruesomness – though this does go with such topics.
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Lost in Transmission by Wil MacCarthy. Sci-fi 6/10
Books By bookworm on 10/8/2007 11:16 AM
Another Science fiction novel in a week is rather more than I’m used to. During my heyday of Sci-fi reading I used to exchange books with a Sci-Fi addict friend who said “I don’t read space” which always amused me because Space is where it started. However, I must be a late developer because I can now say “I don’t really want to read about space again”. Lost in Transmission, by Wil MacCarthy is one of those reasons [ISBN 0 553 58447 2]. The novel starts off OK; the science (always a weakness of modern fantasists) is very good, and the story scenario is reasonably promising – but, then there follows the interminable narrative of the star-ship journey to a new planet and immortal life assured by technology. However, very little dramatic or philosophical mileage is made of any of this, and the characters are thin to the point of disappearance. I’ve forgotten them already.
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Land of the Headless by Adam Roberts. Sci-fi 5/10
Books By bookworm on 10/5/2007 3:14 PM
I think I must be growing out of Science Fiction as the latest reads appear so very hackneyed up to the master writers. Adam Roberts science fiction novel Land of the Headless [ISBN 978 0 575 07588 7] has one very good idea – a future world where certain criminals are punished by the removal of their head, but with the replacement of hearing and sight by inferior prosthetics. So, perhaps a good start, but the story has no edge or bite, and wanders along with little purpose, and the narrative becomes so boring I lost the will to live. There must have been a chance to make something of the strange society through observation or commentary, but instead focuses almost entirely on the difficulties of getting about with no head. Its quite funny if mostly gruesome.
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Hope to Die by Lawrence Block. American Crime fiction 10/10
Books By bookworm on 10/4/2007 8:37 AM
Yet another great read from the master crime fiction writer Lawrence Block and his novel Hope to Die [ISBN 0 75283 839 3] featuring the now ageing now ex-detective Matt Scudder. Vintage stuff this, brilliant plot and a smart paced double narrative and the rounded character of Matt Scudder and the amazing TJ – and written with that nicely observed humour you associate with Lawrence Block. If you’ve not read him rush out and start reading – there’s a lot of catching up to do as he’s been writing a long time.
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Before the Frost by Henning Mankell. Crime fiction 9/10
Books By bookworm on 9/29/2007 11:04 AM
I have actually read Henning Mankell’s Before the Frost [ISBN 1 843 43113 0] some time ago but enjoyed reading it again whilst we wait for his latest and last novel to come out in paper back. This book features Linda Wallender – the daughter of Swedish Inspector Wallender the hard working and stressed policeman of his earlier novels. The plot is nicely set up, with the reader aware, through a double narrative, only slightly more than the Wallenders. The narrative has Mankell’s wonderful bleakness and angst, psychological insights of the most sensitive kind, and a set of characters you can get your teeth into (in a manner of speaking).
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The Savage Garden by Mark Mills. Literary historical/mystery fiction 9/10
Books By bookworm on 9/24/2007 1:04 PM
Mark Mills novel The Savage Garden [ISBN 978 0 00 716193 5] is set in Tuscany in the 1950’s and the context of the Italian summer is atmospheric and satisfying. The plot is a nice puzzle and the characters have a significant depth, and the narrative, though never hurried, carries an increasing and building suspense and menace.
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The World According to Bertie Alexander McCall Smith. Light Literary fiction 8/10
Books By bookworm on 9/19/2007 1:18 PM
On the surface Alexander McCall Smith’s 44 Scotland Street Novels, of which this, The World According to Bertie [ISBN 978 1 84697 017 7] is the latest, are lightweight easy reading fiction. Easy and pleasant reading perhaps, but so beautifully observed, so cleverly detailed that the skill of the author is revealed on each page.
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Sleeper by Paul Adam. Murder mystery fiction 10/10
Books By bookworm on 9/16/2007 1:44 PM
Paul Adam’s murder mystery novel Sleeper [ISBN0 7515 3407 2] was such an enjoyable read I just had to give it full marks. The book is cleverly plotted, the narrative moves along quickly without feeling skimped or inconsidered or muddled, and the context – violin making – is just so original and fascinating that it leaves the reader feeling much more knowledgeable and richer for it. It has just a flavour of the grail-search novels (unknown papers revealed etc) but this does not detract from the pleasure of the plot.
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To the Hermitage by Malcolm Bradbury. Literary fiction 5/10
Books By bookworm on 9/15/2007 9:18 AM
Malcolm Bradbury’s To the Hermitage [ISBN 0 330 37663 2] is a book that just reeks with erudition, in fact it oozes it from every pore. The jacket crits are typically OTT –some words are “playful” “tricky”, “an intellectual fireworks display” “a bold technique” and amazingly enough Auberon Waugh says that this is “The funniest book ever written”. I can only think that an evening in his company could hardly be a barrel of laughs if that’s the case.
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Kill the Messenger by Tami Hoag. American Crime thriller 8/10
Books By bookworm on 9/14/2007 2:01 PM
Tami Hoag’s crime fiction novel Kill the Messenger[ISBN 978 1 8456 1464 5] is, in my opinion, one of her best. The LA context gives that edge of threat and interest: the plot is good, suspenseful and quite tight, and the narrative keeps up a fast pace whilst the characters are believable and have the reader rooting for them from the outset.
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The Dark Clue by James Wilson. Recreation of Victorian suspense novel 6/10
Books By bookworm on 9/13/2007 8:19 AM
James Wilson’s novel set in Victorian England The Dark Clue [ISBN 0 571 20276 4] is his first novel and is clever, well researched and well written. However, the story itself, based on what may or may not have been the life of the painter Turner is not particularly gripping. The plot is strung out promising dark and desperate secrets though overall its rather feeble. The narrative is a series of contrived devices – long letters to the wife, memos, diary entries etc. which chop it about. If you are a fan of Victorian novels, this is for you as you’ll appreciate the book’s subtlety and intelligence.
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The Various Haunts of Men by Susan Hill. Crime thriller 7/10
Books By bookworm on 9/12/2007 8:27 AM
Susan Hill’s thriller The Various Haunts of Men [ISBN 0 099 45209 5] has excellent jacket crits, though I didn’t find the book quite as good as they suggested. The psychopathic serial killer plot is fine, and as for many novels of this kind carried on two narratives – the killer and the searchers – which, as usual, doesn’t really tell you who the killer is until the end. However, I did find the “enigmatic detective Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler” particularly annoying: enigmatic he may be but detect he didn’t for most of this book.
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Digging to America by Anne Tyler. Literary fiction 8/10
Books By bookworm on 9/11/2007 8:41 AM
Anne Tyler’s literary fiction novel Digging to America [ISBN 975 0 099 49939 8] is a delight and rich with believable stories and anecdotes about cross-cultural adoptions. With a mixture of cultural backgrounds (Jewish and Iranian American and Korean) this book illustrates the mass of contradictions present in the American psyche as well as the shared beliefs in nationhood.
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Angels Flight by Michael Connelly. American Crime fiction 9/10
Books By bookworm on 9/10/2007 8:39 AM
I thought I had read all of Michael Connelly’s books featuring H. Bosch, but Angels Flight [ISBN 978 1 8456 1464 5], originally published in 1999 was new to me – and if you missed it as well, I suggest you read it – its very good. The plot is pretty convoluted but credible, and the characters (being American and therefore always exotically foreign to me) fit in nicely, but it is the accomplished narrative that drops goodies all the way through the book ,keeping the reader interested.
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Broken Skin by Stuart Macbride. Crime fiction 10/10
Books By bookworm on 8/30/2007 11:45 AM
Stuart Macbride’s police procedural Broken Skin [ISBN978 0 00 719317 2] is his third book and its just as good as the others –if not better. Set as usual in the more salubrious parts of Aberdeen, and featuring the unlucky and overworked Logan, his ferocious girlfriend Jackie, the amazingly awful Detective Inspectors Insch and Steel, and an equally luscious supporting cast of misfits with human failings. Wonderfully and blackly funny
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The Death List by Paul Johnston. Serial killer UK 7/10
Books By bookworm on 8/28/2007 12:52 PM
Paul Johnston’s crime fiction novel The Death List [ISBN 978 0 7783 0159 2] starts off well – the underlying plot is mesmeric – it is just so weird you are curious to know what is happening – but it does get worse. The plot is all over the place –ripe with menace but less convincing at it proceeds. The characters are quite well drawn though our hero is so thick it’s a wonder he lasts until the end
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The Shadow Walker by Michael Walters. Eastern European (?) crime fiction 8/10
Books By bookworm on 8/22/2007 8:47 AM
Michael Walters’ crime/police procedural The Shadow Walker [ISBN-13978 1 84724 080 4] is set in Mongolia, in Ulan Bataar, which gives a very different context than the usual run-of-the mill crime novels. The plot is fine if a bit clunky though people you don’t know about keep appearing which is often a way of cheating the reader, and the narrative does skip about a bit, but the Mongolian policeman is a delight – intelligent, perceptive and intuitive – a regular Poiret.
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My Life as a Fake by Peter Carey. Literary Fiction 4/10
Books By bookworm on 8/21/2007 8:22 AM
Peter Carey’s My life as a Fake [CN 118758] is a book of literary fiction by this two-times winner of the Booker Prize. It is the story of an imagined character that appears in real life, and though the book is full of nicely written and evocative passages the thinness of this basic premise becomes quite tedious as the book proceeds.
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Mistress of Justice by Jeffery Deaver. Courtroom thriller 8/10
Books By bookworm on 8/18/2007 9:37 AM
Jeffery Deaver’s courtroom/psychological thriller Mistress of Justice [ISBN 978 0 340 82090 2] is much better than the title suggests – the plot set around shenanigans at a Wall Street firm of Attorneys- is nicely complex and only a tad contrived, whilst the characters are as wonderfully varied set of suspects you could wish for. The narrative , like Deaver’s other novels, gives the book quality as it weaves clues and none clues in and out with an excellent and satisfying ending.
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The Collected Dorothy Parker by Dorothy Parker. Literary-fiction & non-fiction collected works 10/10
Books By bookworm on 8/16/2007 3:32 PM
A recent visit to the Edinburgh Fringe and a play featuring the life of Dorothy Parker has led to the purchase of this book – The Collected Dorothy Parker [ISBN 0 14 118258 X] a collection of her short stories, witty poems and one liners and book reviews. Dorothy Parker was so very famous and of her time, and this collection gives glimpses of why that was. She shows acerbic wit, sharp perceptions of people and an underlying sadness. I think my favourite parts are the book reviews
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The Last Testament by Sam Bourne. Grail-search type thriller 8/10
Books By bookworm on 8/15/2007 8:16 AM
Sam Bourne’s novel The Last Testament [ISBN 978 0 00 720333 8] is a grail-search type thriller (though the object of the search is old testament not new). Set mainly in Palestine the book is well-researched and has lots of authentic touches of context and situation, the plot is not particularly complex but it has embroidered into it various red herrings, but it’s the way the narrative is chopped about (like much modern fiction of this type) that (rather artificially) creates the suspense. Sometimes you just wish for a straightforward story, but there you go.
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Dying Light by Stuart Macbride. Crime fiction 9/10
Books By bookworm on 8/14/2007 2:41 PM
Dying Light the crime fiction novel by Stuart Macbride [ISBN 978 0 00 719316 5] is his second book set in Aberdeen. The jacket blurbs say “gritty” and they’re not joking. The book is a brilliant anarchic police procedural, the plot is complex and full of red herrings, the summer time in Aberdeen does not make his second book any less bleak, and his characters equal Rankin’s (and that’s saying something from a committed Rankin fan).
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