Books - Book Aid
The Long close call by J. Wallis Martin. British crime fiction 10/10
Books By bookworm on 4/30/2008 8:55 AM
J. Wallis Martin’s crime fiction novel The Long Close Call [ ISBN 0 340 72817 5] is a gripping read – not only is this a good plot, and a clever, suspenseful, quickly moving narrative, but she has a way of revealing her knowledge of the backgrounds of her characters – and giving a realistic and engaging context. I don’t usually like the flashback narratives that splurge past information in dribbles through the book, but in this case it is well done and it works pretty well.
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Suffer the Little Children by Donna Leon. Eurocrime 10/10
Books By bookworm on 4/29/2008 8:34 AM
I really like Donna Leon’s crime fiction series featuring Commissario Brunetti and this latest one Suffer the Little Children [878 0 099 50322 4] is the usual pleasure of perfect atmosphere, good plot, rounded, interesting characters and relationships together with sensitive handling of pertinent social issues – no mean feat.
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Night Work by Steve Hamilton. American crime fiction 7/10
Books By bookworm on 4/27/2008 8:17 AM
Steve Hamilton’s crime fiction novel Night Work [ISBN 978 0 7528 8594] is a fair read – the plot is twisted and unfathomable, the with one of those relentless narratives that clobber the hero again and again until you wonder where it will end. Its probably just a bit too relentless for me, with rather too much action – it becomes less than plausible after a while.
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Last Witness by Jilliane Hoffman. American crime fiction 7/10
Books By bookworm on 4/26/2008 8:43 AM
Jilliane Hoffman’s debut crime fiction book Last Witness [ISBN 0 141 01712 0] is a very readable thriller, nicely plotted (not too obscure but not easily guessable) and nicely paced with a narrative that reveals enough new information regularly enough to keep you on the edge of the seat. Characters are well-written too.
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The Malice Box by Martin Langfield. Grail type thriller 5/10
Books By bookworm on 4/18/2008 2:10 PM
Martin Langfield’s thriller The Malice Box [ISBN978 0 141 02506 3] appears to be just a plot-mishmash of all the worst pseudo-religious ancient-secret-revealed-search type book, mixed with a strange modern doomsday-bomb kind of threat. Grim – I only made it with judicious skipping – and I wish I’d never bothered.
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Severed by Simon Kernick. British thriller 9/10
Books By bookworm on 4/17/2008 9:05 AM
Severed is Simon Kernick’s second book [ISBN 978 0 552 15313 3] – the first, Relentless (see this blog) was just that, fast and furious though the plot had gaps. This book is such a similar style – absolutely relentless from start to finish – you really start a roller coaster ride from page one – and it speeds up rather than slows down. It really is remarkable. The plot is also reminiscent of his first – based on the hero not having a clue why or what is happening to him- though this hero is more intelligent and active than the first book. What a pacy, exciting read !
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Not Dead Enough by Peter James. British crime fiction 9/10
Books By bookworm on 4/15/2008 9:37 AM
Peter James’s crime fiction thriller Not Dead Enough [ISBN 978 0 330 44612 9] has a brilliant plot, good, atmospheric background (Brighton etc) and meaty characters. The narrative is well-written and though it does meander along in parts, does keep its suspense. However, once the reader guesses what is happening then it does appear rather slow.
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Touched by the Dead by Robert Barnard. Crime fiction 6/10
Books By bookworm on 4/11/2008 2:26 PM
Robert Barnard’s Touched by the Dead [0 00 651326 3] is his usual well-crafted, straightforward, “civilised entertainment – Times” . You can’t say much more than that: they are literate without being literary, readable without being exciting, endings and plot-changes with rabbit out of the hat-type cheating. Just the thing for a wet afternoon
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Die with me by Elena Forbes. English crime fiction 8/10
Books By bookworm on 4/7/2008 11:30 AM
Die with me by Elena Forbes [ISBN 978 1 84724 291 4] is quite cleverly plotted, starts well and is full of brooding tension and evil. The narrative is more gruesome and explicit than I feel particularly comfortable with and introduces a murderer with different types of motivation and who obviously is well camouflaged in his life. The angst within the murder squad also adds some interest and displays some human interest.
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Free Fall by John Francome. Horsy Crime fiction 6/10
Books By bookworm on 4/4/2008 12:30 PM
John Francome’s fiction novel Free Fall [ISBN 978 0 7553 2695 2] is pretty easy reading, nothing earthshaking or taxing. The plot is obviously authentic with a couple of twists, but without a great deal of depth, the narrative straightforward and not a lot of suspense, and the characters horsy but nonetheless ordinary (which is not all bad, but is less than exciting).
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The Field of Blood by Denise Mina. Tartan very noir 9/10
Books By bookworm on 4/1/2008 12:29 PM
I just love Denise Mina’s writing, though I wish I had read The Field of Blood [ISBN 978 0 553 81525 2] before her later books – to read them out of sequence is a pity, as reading this book gives valuable background to the journalist main character, as well as her context in Glasgow and the business of working on a large newspaper. The writing is incisive, clear and gives you more of a picture than you feel you need, sometimes. The plotting is excellent and Denise Mina leads you through the story making you look with empathy on the often too-human people in it. However, I have to say it is not the kind of book I could read through quickly – it just doesn’t process with skimming- and I often felt I had enough for one session after a chapter or two.
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Naked to the Hangman by Andrew Taylor. British crime fiction 6/10
Books By bookworm on 3/31/2008 1:29 PM
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
Books By bookworm on 3/30/2008 11:17 AM
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
Books By bookworm on 3/29/2008 5:20 PM
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
Books By bookworm on 3/26/2008 2:47 PM
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
Books By bookworm on 3/19/2008 1:03 PM
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
Books By bookworm on 3/18/2008 3:58 PM
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
Books By bookworm on 3/17/2008 8:58 AM
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
Books By bookworm on 3/16/2008 9:09 AM
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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Stop Press by Michael Innes. British Vintage Greenback Crime fiction 7/10
Books By bookworm on 3/11/2008 1:48 PM
You’ve just got to give Michael Innes novel Stop Press [First published 1939] marks for a bizarre plot and the longest narrative covering a range of unlikely happenings and revealing precious little light on the mystery until it finally finishes.
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Never Somewhere Else by Alex Gray. Tartan Noir crime fiction 8/10
Books By bookworm on 3/9/2008 11:04 AM
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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Black Maps by Peter Spiegelman. American Crime Fiction 9/10
Books By bookworm on 3/4/2008 11:43 AM
Peter Spiegelman’s Black Maps [ISBN 0 09 945344 4] is very readable indeed. Even though the hero is that increasingly popular but particular bete noir of mine – person with tragic past dragged into the present at every turn- the book is better than a hero-with-angst can spoil. The plot is clever and impenetrable to the reader (though this isn’t one of those where you’ve got the clues to sort it) and the narrative moves forward quickly, with interesting revelations throughout. The characters wouldn’t make War and Peace, but who needs too much characterisation in a crime novel ? However, this author has a fetish for describing everything people wore down to the shade and colour, which I found far too much information. Even this peccadillo doesn’t put me off too much.
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Candleland by Martyn Waites. British noir crime fiction 8/10
Books By bookworm on 3/3/2008 2:32 PM
Martyn Waites novel Candleland [ISBN 0 7490 0464 9] is as bleak as most noir fiction, this time set mainly in London. The plot is not unfamiliar, as most noir novels it digs into the underlife of society and its convoluted ways of working; and the narrative is given lift by the characterisations and their various motives and involvement in the action. It isn’t cheery stuff, but then this is not expected of the genre, but it is an interesting read.
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Last Voyage of the Valentina by Santa Montefiore. Literary/Romantic fiction 8/10
Books By bookworm on 3/1/2008 12:10 PM
To be truthful, I didn’t think that Last Voyage of the Valentina by Santa Montefiore [ISBN 1-84561-462-3] was particularly well written in a literary sense. It had an interesting mystery and background story – the immediate second world post-war period in a small Italian Village- though the characters were really quite laughably romantic cardboard cutouts mainly from that interesting - thought to be Dodo group – folks so rich that they don’t work and have family homes big enough for a battalion of dogs and horses. In spite of this the book is salacious enough to be titillating and the narrative is nicely organised to keep you guessing and moving along to find out.
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The Singing Sands by Josephine Tey. Vintage Greenback British Crime 6/10
Books By bookworm on 2/29/2008 9:02 AM
Josephine Tey’s novel The Singing Sands [First published 1952] is a strange uneven book. It starts off so very well with a mystery you can get your teeth into that draws the reader in, and then the main character her Inspector Grant trails around Scotland to unravel the mystery (none of which has any link to Scotland at all). From this point on the book takes a nosedive. The plot is lost, the characters bizarre, the narrative increasingly complicated and the ending is a literary device guaranteed to annoy the reader.
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Country of the Blind by Christopher Brookmyre. Tartan noir 10/10
Books By bookworm on 2/26/2008 3:27 PM
If you’ve never read Christopher Brookmyre, you’ve missed a treat – this book – Country of the Blind [ISBN 0 7515 3185 5] is perhaps not as outrageous as some of his earlier ones, but still the satire is strong and clever, and the plot is as brilliantly convoluted. He does a political satire better than most and the narrative is skilful and just draws you along. The characters appear firstly as caricatures but then it becomes clear how well drawn they are – and how they grab the reader. Good ending too.
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The Soft Talkers by Margaret Millar. Vintage Greenback American Crime Fiction 10/10
Books By bookworm on 2/25/2008 3:52 PM
This vintage novel [First published 1957] is an example of a brilliantly conceived and written crime fiction novel both by the standards of its time and also compared with modern writing. The plot is very good indeed, and must have been copied since, many times. It is, however, the structure of the narrative that makes it so special – several preliminary scenes set the context and the characters- and then the story unfolds getting nearer and nearer to the truth. The various clues dropped along the way keep the reader engaged and active, but even so, the ending is still a surprise.
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Are you afraid of the Dark by Sidney Sheldon. Bond-type Adventure 6/10
Books By bookworm on 2/23/2008 1:38 PM
I have called this a Bond-type adventure, though there is no Bond equivalent in Are you Afraid of the Dark by Sidney Sheldon [ISBN 978 0 00 779633 5]. It is reminiscent of such adventure stories in that there is a plot involving unknown international major powers and all kinds of nasty work-at-the-crossroads for folk that get in their way. Characterisations are broad brush and a tad dated whilst the narrative itself is so chopped about it can either intrigue or annoy the reader (it did both for me in equal measure).
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Turning Angel by Greg Iles. American thriller 8/10
Books By bookworm on 2/22/2008 3:35 PM
You can’t say that Greg Iles’s novel Turning Angel [ISBN 0 340 83371 8] is anything but well-written, he’s a first-rate story teller and is not frightened of exploring new avenues in content – nowadays, this always means, of course, more daring, more gruesome, more salacious. This book also has a many layered plot – just when you think you know who did it, another suspect is produced. However, it’s a big book and the suspense strung out quite a long way – the story has just too many red herrings for my attention span, and without some judicious skipping I might never have reached the final denouement – after all, you have to care who did it and if the author makes you wait to long, you lose interest.
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The Life and Times of The Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson. Autobiography 10/10
Books By bookworm on 2/17/2008 9:55 AM
Bill Bryson’s latest autobiographical book The Life and times of The Thunderbolt Kid [ISBN 978 0 552 77254 9] tells a deceptively simple narrative of his early life growing up in Des Moines, Idaho during the 1950s. It is amusing and often quite hilarious, but so very perceptive, and tells us so much about the American psyche of hubris and consumerism, and indeed, much more.
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The Riverman by Alex Gray. Scottish noir crime fiction 9/10
Books By bookworm on 2/14/2008 11:07 AM
Alex Gray’s The Riverman [ISBN 978 0 7515 3873 1] is another fine Scottish noir crime novel – set in Glasgow like Denise Mina, but not quite as noir or gritty as her novels, but very atmospheric and focussed. The plot is very good, though I did find the undoubtedly well-written narrative a little slow to start (hence the picky 9/10) and it took me quite a time to find a rhythm.. However, persistence was well rewarded and I thought it was excellent, interesting read
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The daughter of time by Josephine Tey. Vintage Greenback Vintage historical whodunit 6/10
Books By bookworm on 2/13/2008 2:09 PM
Josephine Tey’s The daughter of time [First published 1951] is historical fiction written up as a story within a story – which makes a mechanism for padding and creating a level of suspense that would disappear if the story were written without the frills. It deals with whether Richard III did actually kill the Princes in the Tower or not, and the scholarship that went into looking into this is exemplary and makes it a useful read for those who like such analysis.
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The Acupuncture Murders by Dwight Steward. Vintage Greenback American crime fiction 4/10
Books By bookworm on 2/12/2008 1:44 PM
I’m sure that this book – Dwight Sterward’s The Acupuncture Murders [First published 1973] was ahead of its time when published – it was possibly breaking new ground for the time. A deaf main character and sleuth give many challenges for narrative and clues – given the difficulties of hearing and sound coming into everything – there’s not much dialogue with a deaf character though this author manages this very well. Unfortunately its just too clever for its own good. All the action and clues become so complicated that the reader has a difficult time to a) keep up and b) stay awake
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Angels Passing by Graham Hurley. British Police procedural 9/10
Books By bookworm on 2/11/2008 2:03 PM
Graham Hurley’s crime fiction novel Angels Passing [ISBN 978 1 4072 0694 3] is the first of his books I’ve read, but appears to be the third of a series with this detective – Joe Faraday. The plot (or rather two plots) is put together well, and the narrative, consisting of two separate crime investigations intertwined in a masterful fashion always moves well, without the clunkiness many split narratives have. However, because the author has rather artificially got a member of Faraday’s family involved in the crime story (I hate that – it smacks of running out of ideas) I have deducted the point.
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Black Plumes by Margery Allingham. Vintage English Greenback crime fiction 7/10
Books By bookworm on 2/8/2008 9:42 AM
Margery Allingham was a very prolific author and though some of her early novels were pretty naff, some were better than others, though many suffered from affected upper class men with lisps and seriously limp wrested women in incipient hysterics. This novel, Black Plumes [First published 1940 and reprinted numerous times] is no different, except the women are collectively more hysterical and nervy than most, and one is hysterical and in her dressing gown throughout. The plot is good, and the narrative pacy, and if you can curtail your irritation with the precious characters (absorbing social history and such) not a bad read.
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How Like an Angel by Margaret Millar. Vintage American Greenback Crime 9/10
Books By bookworm on 2/6/2008 3:20 PM
Margaret Millar has won Mystery Writers of America prizes and is/was married to Ross Macdonald which might well have crimped her style, and though she must have become quite well known in American Crime fiction I have never heard of her before but this novel, How Like an Angel [First published 1962] shows how good she is/was. A plot of its time ( focussed about a religious commune) coupled with a well-planned narrative and a really great ending, makes an interesting read.
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Archform Beauty by LE Modesitt Jr. Scifi 6/10
Books By bookworm on 2/5/2008 3:37 PM
L E Modesitt’s Archform Beauty [ISBN 0 765 3434 9] has a pretty good plot, it’s a pity that this pseudo avante gard split narratives make it so difficult to get into it in the first place. It is written in five different first person narratives which finally serve to create an interesting and quite challenging story – we’ve seen it all before, corrupt politicians, misused technology etc. but written with a nice slant. Certainly worth a read if you can spend long enough to get into it – I spent ages re-reading when I picked it up again to try to work out what was happening to whom.
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Hunters of Dune by Herbert and Anderson. Scifi 4/10
Books By bookworm on 2/4/2008 9:47 AM
I really liked the first Dune novels written by Brian Herbert’s father Frank, so I was really disappointed in this book, Hunters of Dune, one of a load of seemingly endless sequels now written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson[ISBN 0 340 83747 0]. The plot has been so attenuated over the years that the new bits feel bolt-on and incongruous, though perhaps I’m being too picky, and if I were a real aficionado I would accept.
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Diplomatic Immunity by Lois McMaster Bujolo. Scifi Space Opera 8/10
Books By bookworm on 2/3/2008 2:01 PM
Lois McMaster Bujolo’s Sci Fi Novel Diplomatic Immunity[ISBN 0 7434 6802 3] is a satisfying read, even though its rather less science and more space opera. It has an excellent plot and suitably well-crafted narrative. It has many twists and turns and never gets boring. This is the first I’ve read of this author, and I’m ready to read another.
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Deep Black by Andy McNab. Adventure story 8/10
Books By bookworm on 2/2/2008 10:26 AM
You’ve got to give it to Andy McNab his boy’s own adventure novel Deep Black [ISBN 0 552 15019 3] is another impeccably authentic novel. He manages to write these convincing, gripping, adventures time after time, he is a master at this genre because he knows his stuff; the reader is given glimpses of the reality of modern war (and unpleasant it is too) and not only this – his plots are excellent and the narrative moves like lightening.
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Kop by Warren Hammond. SciFi noir crime/action thriller 8/10
Books By bookworm on 2/1/2008 2:09 PM
Kop by Warren Hammond [ISBN 13 978 0 7653 1272 3] is noir future crime set in a grim tropical world where many can hardly scrape a living. The backdrop is fascinating and the story hooks you in, and even though the narrative wades through the squirmy and gritty noir-essential stuff, it makes the action interesting and gripping. This is his first novel and pretty good it is too.
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Exile by Denise Mina. Scottish Noir crime 9/10
Books By bookworm on 1/31/2008 10:28 AM
I really have to give Exile by Denise Mina [ISBN 0 593 04] a high score because it is written with such realism and perceptive insights. It is well written and thought provoking. It has an excellent plot. Its characters are multi dimensional and drawn with amazingly observed human touches few notice. However, I have to also say it is raw and brutal; it is beyond “gritty” it is uncomfortable and deeply depressing in parts. You wish some brightness could filter into these Glaswegian low-lives. It took me a long time to read because I only read relatively little at a time, and that way I could appreciate its quirky ironic humour without being too down afterwards. If you read for escape, you wouldn’t want to escape to here.
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Harm by Brian Aldiss. Science Fiction 6/10
Books By bookworm on 1/30/2008 3:22 PM
Well, the master science fiction writer is certainly keeping his stories up to date. Brian Aldiss’s Harm [ISBN 978 0 7156 3699 2] deals with the current concern about Guantanamo and Abu Graib together with issues of insanity and worlds within the mind. I have to say that it is quite deeply depressing and thought provoking, and if you read books for pleasure rather than getting slugged in the head, then this is not for you. It is quite unrelenting and though it deals with deep issues of the relationship of religious belief, oppression and violence, it does not offer anything as antidote.
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Kill Me by Stephen White. American crime thriller 8/10
Books By bookworm on 1/29/2008 12:12 PM
There’s no doubt about it, Kill Me by Stephen White [ISBN 978 0 7515 3629 –4] is mostly very good indeed. The plot is just a bit different (not particularly plausible, but suspend your disbelief and its OK). Mind you, the narrative is one of those that starts at the end and works back in a kind of haphazard way so the reader reads on to find out what is happening. Something pretty awful, its clear, but why ?
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Shakespeare by Bill Bryson. Literary non-fiction: biography 10/10
Books By bookworm on 1/28/2008 1:41 PM
Bill Bryson’s biography of Shakespeare [ISBN 978 0 00 719789 7] is full of his scholarship and research on Shakespeare, meticulously referenced – but what makes it such a brilliant book is how well it is written. Whether you are a particular afficiando of Shakespeare or not, the book is written so cogently – like a very readable story – which makes what little is known about Shakespeare into a highly plausible, interesting biography.
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Shadow Man by Cody McFadyen. American crime thriller 7/10
Books By bookworm on 1/26/2008 9:29 AM
Cody McFadyen’s thriller Shadow Man [ISBN 0 340 84006 4] is seriously gruesome in parts and that’s why I’ve rated it down – it is quite unremittingly noir. The heroine has no respite from start to finish, which though this makes for suspenseful reading, it can be inappropriate for a late night read – or even a relaxing one. Technically, its quite good, though you’ll recognise the plot which has been laundered many times – you know, past nightmares coming back to get you. However, you will not guess what is happening for some time. If you can get the book or it gets lent to you, try it.
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In the Woods by Tana French. Irish Mystery/thriller 8/10
Books By bookworm on 1/25/2008 10:54 AM
Tana French’s mystery thriller In the Woods [ISBN 978 0 340 92476 1] is a debut novel, and very good it is too. There is a stonking plot which hooks you from the outset, and a slowish narrative that has some flashback of an old murder tied in, perhaps, in some way with a current case. It feels, at times, too long for the suspense it has to carry. Large dense books such as this, however, good value, have to be read in several sessions and the more complex the plot the more difficult it is to remember nuances of hints or clues over several days. Having said that, it is so very well planned and written, it’s a pleasure to see a new author so skilled.
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Trial and Error by Anthony Berkeley. Vintage Greenback English crime fiction 7/10
Books By bookworm on 1/23/2008 9:49 AM
Anthony Berkeley’s crime fiction novel [First published 1937] notwithstanding its dated characters (this wouldn’t matter if the authors didn’t make them speak in such a twee way – surely middle class people who didn’t seem to work weren’t as insufferable as this were they? Well yes, they probably were). The story is nicely plotted and though the book is really too long, so the plot is strung further than the reader’s attention span, it shifts gears well. Good ending too.
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The Secret Vanguard by Michael Innes. Vintage English Greenback mystery fiction 6/10
Books By bookworm on 1/22/2008 10:04 AM
Michael Innes’s mystery fiction novel The Secret Vanguard [First published 1940] is reflective of the time and the plot deals with wartime spies and underhand dealing by the enemy. Set mostly in the Highlands of Scotland the story features a very modern Bond-type heroine full of derring do, plus Michael Innes’s Inspector Appleby, who has lightning thoughts but snail’s action. The mystery is set up in a pretty clunky way using a strange, noticeable code and the early and middle part of the book move along quite well. It only gets very strange near the end, but that’s par for mysteries when the time for rational explanation looms.
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The Follower by Patrick Quentin. Vintage Greenback British-ish mystery fiction 6/10
Books By bookworm on 1/20/2008 12:06 PM
Patrick Quentin, it seems, is a British writer living abroad. The Follower [First published 1950] is set first in New York and then in Mexico. Though the contextual details are pretty thin, the plot is OK, and the story moves along quickly. The characters are not as dated as those in English settings of the time, but still one or two are pretty two dimensional. Its not a bad read if you keep skipping.
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