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What Came Before He Shot Her by Elizabeth George. British Crime fiction 10/10 |
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By bookworm on
5/28/2008 11:50 AM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
5/28/2008 11:50 AM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
5/27/2008 1:52 PM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
5/25/2008 10:34 AM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
5/24/2008 2:44 PM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
5/23/2008 2:30 PM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
5/21/2008 8:46 AM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
5/20/2008 5:22 PM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
5/15/2008 6:36 PM
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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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Body Surfing by Anita Shreve American literary fiction 7/10 |
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By bookworm on
5/8/2008 8:31 AM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
5/7/2008 8:04 AM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
5/5/2008 8:33 AM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
5/4/2008 8:24 AM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
5/3/2008 6:20 PM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
5/2/2008 3:06 PM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
5/1/2008 8:43 AM
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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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The Long close call by J. Wallis Martin. British crime fiction 10/10 |
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By bookworm on
4/30/2008 8:55 AM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
4/29/2008 8:34 AM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
4/27/2008 8:17 AM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
4/26/2008 8:43 AM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
4/18/2008 2:10 PM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
4/17/2008 9:05 AM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
4/15/2008 9:37 AM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
4/11/2008 2:26 PM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
4/7/2008 11:30 AM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
4/4/2008 12:30 PM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
4/1/2008 12:29 PM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
3/31/2008 1:29 PM
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Andrew Taylor’s Naked to the Hangman [ISBN 978 0 340 89521 4] is obviously the work of a good writer, the plot is sound, the story fine, and the characters quite rounded – and yet the two-strand narrative – the old-now-and-flashback- I found particularly chopped up and annoying – as the point of the past narrative appeared to have been attenuated and deliberately left out so that the lead up to it could fill space, so though these passages showed angst, you had no clue what for until the end of the book. What could have been an excellent book was spoiled for me.
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The Tiger in the Smoke by Margery Allingham. Greenback English crime fiction 8/10 |
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By bookworm on
3/30/2008 11:17 AM
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The Tiger in the Smoke [First published 1952] is said to be Margery Allingham’s best novel, and it is certainly very much atmospheric and evocative of its early post-2nd world war time. So much of the action happens in the throes of a London smog, where the world shuts down for the traveller and dark deeds can be done openly. The plot is quite patchy, but the action makes up for it with gusto and lots of movement. Characters are her usual odd assortment of peculiar ruffians and heroes who obviously play cricket – and the weird Albert Campion who never seems to know what is going on until the end when he pretends her knew all along what was happening.
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The Shakespeare Secret by J.L. Carrell. Grail-search type novel 8/10 |
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By bookworm on
3/29/2008 5:20 PM
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JL Carrell’s The Shakespeare Secret [ISBN 978 0 7515 4035 2] is much like the Da Vinci Code without the religion and with the hazardous searching. The plot – looking as may be guessed for a lost Shakespeare play- might be though to be possible, but in the hands of this author is only risible and beyond the farthest fetched you could think of. Having said that, the narrative bowls along so quickly – with so many murders- it is easy to become hooked into finding out. If you can believe that a lost Shakespeare play could be found in a mine in New Mexico, then this is for you.
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The Skeleton in the Grass by Robert Barnard. English Crime Fiction 7/10 |
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By bookworm on
3/26/2008 2:47 PM
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The Skeleton in the Grass by Robert Barnard [ISBN 0 552 13479 1] is another easy-reading crime fiction from this author – and this one reminiscent of the backgrounds of Agatha Christie – 1930s idyllic upper-crust living with a murder. Impossible to guess the murderer – unlike Christie, Barnard doesn’t play fair – but it makes for suspense !
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Contact Zero by David Wolstencroft. Spy thriller 10/10 |
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By bookworm on
3/19/2008 1:03 PM
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Spooks author, David Wolstencroft’s Contact Zero [ISBN 0 340 83166 9] is excellent escapist adventure-spy-stuff. Though this is not my favourite genre, the book has a brilliant, brain-twisting plot, which proceeds through different complex layers in the most fascinating way. The reader just begins to think they are following what is happening when the gear changes again. The characters are reasonably rounded and not intrusive and the double narrative – past and now –interspersed in a painless way, not the usually irritating non sequitars.
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Blood Brotherhood by Robert Barnard. English Crime fiction 6/10 |
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By bookworm on
3/18/2008 3:58 PM
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Blood Brotherhood by Robert Barnard [ISBN 0 09 9528280 5] is another one of those idiosyncratic plots and a quite contrived but readable whodunit of a book. I like the short length of the books whicg mean, at least, the narrative moves well and keeps the plot going.
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Dirty Blonde by Lisa Scottoline. American Crime fiction 7/10 |
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By bookworm on
3/16/2008 9:09 AM
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Lisa Scottline’s Dirty Blonde [ISBN 978 0 330 44383 8] is her usual readable novel, though the plot is not especially brilliant, and the central character not particularly engaging, though the narrative rattles along with the usually well-designed suspense.
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Never Somewhere Else by Alex Gray. Tartan Noir crime fiction 8/10 |
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By bookworm on
3/9/2008 11:04 AM
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Alex Gray’s novel Never Somewhere Else [ISBN 1 84195 218 4] is another book featuring his detective DCI Lorimer and set in the streets, parks and galleries of Glasgow (in fact its quite a nice incidental tour). Gray’s prose is well-written, and though the plot is strangely familiar and the characters quite heavy, its is the quality of the narrative that makes the book.
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Black Maps by Peter Spiegelman. American Crime Fiction 9/10 |
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By bookworm on
3/4/2008 11:43 AM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
3/3/2008 2:32 PM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
3/1/2008 12:10 PM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
2/29/2008 9:02 AM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
2/26/2008 3:27 PM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
2/25/2008 3:52 PM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
2/23/2008 1:38 PM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
2/22/2008 3:35 PM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
2/17/2008 9:55 AM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
2/14/2008 11:07 AM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
2/13/2008 2:09 PM
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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 |
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By bookworm on
2/12/2008 1:44 PM
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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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