Books - Book Aid
Precious Blood by Jonathan Hayes. Crime thriller 6/10
Books By bookworm on 5/19/2009 6:56 PM
Jonathan Hayes’ thriller Precious Blood [ISBM 978 0 0995 1754 2] is not for the squeamish, and, to be truthful, it’s a little too gruesome for me – and the plot is much too fanciful, though I understand authors try to outdo their predecessors, but this does not make for brilliant reading. So, the plot is much too complex in order to explain the gruesome stuff, the characters pretty weak – and not as bright as you wanted them to be, and the narrative which is quite pacy has to make up for the problems with the other stuff.
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Faceless by Martina Cole. Gritty fiction 4/10
Books By bookworm on 5/18/2009 1:51 PM
I wouldn’t recommend Martina Cole’s Faceless [ISBN 978 – 0-7553-3753-8] to anyone wanting cheering up or generally lifting – the jacket blub says her book is about ”violence and corruption” and “the shady criminal underworld – a setting she is fast making her own”. What this doesn’t say is that the characters are the most unpleasant lot you have ever had portrayed in a novel. Rather, the women are all nasty, sleazy, obnoxious bullies, whose families hate them (and we can see why) and the men are equally repulsive, but as they are the bullied and badly-done to, are allowed a glimmer or two of nearly human behaviour. I didn’t care a jot about any of them. In fact, I don’t know why I bothered to finish it.
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A Line in the Sand by Gerald Seymour. Spy/Adventure 10/10
Books By bookworm on 5/16/2009 7:47 PM
A Line in the Sand by Gerald Seymour [ISBN 978 0 552 15878 7] is so well written it should have won a prize instead of the many tedious books that do win. Why ? It’s a strong story line, with a brilliant narrative that makes the reader keep on reading to find out what will happen – and cleverly set up so the reader’s sympathy swings from side to side, whatever the starting point. Characters develop well over the book , and our hero has more warts than most by the time the book ends.
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All the Colours of Darkness by Peter Robinson. British police procedural 8/10
Books By bookworm on 5/15/2009 2:14 PM
This is the latest in the Chief Inspector Banks series, and his character seems to be tiring Robinson – Banks is strung out, attenuated, thin and lacking in focus – know how he feels, but its got so that I can feel very irritated with him and his lacklustre lovelife and choice of music that clearly is meant to be esoteric and I just wish he didn’t make such a big deal of it and get onto the plot. Like you feel like by reading this preparatory drivel. Having said that the plot is good and the narrative is nicely planned to keep you reading through Robinson’s usual thick (in width) novels.
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Keep me close by Clare Francis. Crime Fiction 8/10
Books By bookworm on 5/13/2009 3:26 PM
Keep me close by Clare Francis is a well-plotted novel: the narrative has a nicely planned tempo that builds well and keeps the reader interested. The build up of suspense is excellent with the putative baddy changing in the reader’s mind chapter by chapter.
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The Garden of Evil by David Hewson. Crime fiction 9/10
Books By bookworm on 5/12/2009 2:37 PM
The Garden of Evil by David Hewson. Crime fiction 9/10 I really like the Rome settings of Hewson’s crime fiction novels, so atmospheric and different. His characters are not bad, though his story lines are somewhat stretched at time, and this one is too, but nonetheless a good, exciting read. The Garden of Evil is well put together, lots of suspense, no fancy narrative splitting stuff and not a bad plot. A woman art expert is found dead
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Careless in Red by Elizabeth George. Inspector Lynley Crime fiction 8/10
Books By bookworm on 5/10/2009 1:14 PM
Elizabeth George’s detective Thomas (Lord) Lynley has come a long way from the early days with the painfully manufacture British background appeared as the under researched and over-Britished beloved of the Americans, with creaky stories and wooden posh characters. Mind you, though the characters have deepened, they haven’t become entirely believable
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The Hidden Assassins by Robert Wilson. Javier Falcon Thriller 10/10
Books By bookworm on 5/4/2009 12:56 PM
I’ve not written a book blog since November – after three years of almost daily blogs I had a reader’s crisis, a wasteland of thin “bestsellers” so bad that I never felt like writing about them. Except for Robert Wilson – this is the third Javier Falcon thriller I have read and will track them all down. Set in Saville, these atmospheric, brilliantly plotted books are so very good
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Kennedy’s Brain by Henning Mankell. Issue-focussed mystery/crime fiction 6/10
Books By bookworm on 11/24/2008 1:53 PM
Henning Mankell’s novel Kennedy’s Brain [ISBN 978 1 846 55030 0] is disappointing – after the wonderful series of Kurt Wallender novels he then wrote the very strange Depths – and even though this is not on the same bookshelf as that weird book, it still is quite difficult to get into. It has a very tangential way of getting into its subject – Aids in Africa, obviously Mankells major interest – but a highly convoluted plot knit with layers of mysterious happenings set up the reader for some answers that never really arrive.
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Sign of the Cross by Chris Kuzneski. Grail-type search & boys own adventure meets Enid Blyton 5/10
Books By bookworm on 11/23/2008 1:07 PM
You have to give these Dan Brown writealikes credit for trying, but not too much. Sign of the Cross by Chris Kuzneski [ISBN 978 0 141 03084 5] has the same formula as usual, mysterious artefacts, hidden messages, baddies trying to stop them finding stuff, gratuitous violence etc etc, but does not have the research and scholarship of many of them. In addition to this also has some of the most risible dialogue for the “English” professor I have ever read (Goodness gracious, I’m flummoxed). In fact you can almost tell what its like to listen in class to English teacher Kuzneski “No verb without an expressive adverb or two no noun without obscure adjectives, and as many words in a sentence you can get away with.” After all that the plot is OK.
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The Blind Man of Seville by Robert Wilson. Literary thriller/ Eurocrime 10/10
Books By bookworm on 11/21/2008 12:00 PM
Robert Wilson’s novel The Blind Man of Seville [ISBN 978 0 00 711781 9] is an intelligent, compelling and complex story of families, Spanish history, modern crime and art.The plot is fairly simple, but the rich double narrative (one of them a historical diary illuminating the life of the foreign legion and post-war Tangiers). A satisfying read.
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Turnstone by Graham Hurley. British crime fiction 8/10
Books By bookworm on 11/19/2008 12:53 PM
Graham Hurley’s police procedural novel Turnstone [ISBN 978 1 4072 1621 8] features his DI Joe Faraday (the widower with the deaf son) who is as full of angst and complexities as ever – and dogged and individualistic. Hurley has written a very readable novel with a good plot and narrative that moves along nicely without too many snips of change of direction.
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Killer Heat by Linda Fairstein. American crime fiction 7/10
Books By bookworm on 11/11/2008 2:05 PM
Linda Fairstein’s novel Killer Heat [ISBN 978 0 7515 3806 9] is a continuation of her series featuring “Coop” and sidekicks Chapman and Mercer. The plot is her usual skilful and chilling mystery, revealed slowly as they have to wait for several deaths before they get clues as to what might be going on (and then not quickly). The relationship between the three becomes tedious with little development.
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Not in the Flesh by Ruth Rendell. British Crime fiction 7/10
Books By bookworm on 11/10/2008 8:59 PM
Ruth Rendall’s Not in the Flesh [ISBN 978 0 09 951722 1] is such a pleasant surprise to read after a number of reads I can only call gross (just finished Stuart McBride’s Flesh something or other and I wouldn’t even want to write about it). However, Not in the Flesh could be described as tastefully gruesome but the straightforward narrative is a pleasure to read, even though Wexford and his supercilious sidekick Burden can appear less than on the ball.
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The Last Gospel by David Gibbins. Another grail-type search 7/10
Books By bookworm on 11/8/2008 1:05 PM
We are all too familiar with the formulae of these grail-type search novels and The Last Gospel by David Gibbins [ISBN 978 0 7553 4734 6] is no exception. Here are the newly-found artifacts/scraps of stuff hidden in secret places, codes and cryptic clues, dashing about all over the world AND being followed closely by baddies who are trying to stop them. The difference appears to be that Gibbins is an archaeologist and knows his stuff about excavations – though its just as fanciful as if he didn’t know-and folks who know their facts have to just shoehorn it into the text, which can be as artificial as it is tedious in places.
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Cold in the Earth by Aline Templeton. British crime fiction 7/10
Books By bookworm on 11/7/2008 11:56 AM
Set in Galloway, Cold in the Earth by Aline Templeton [ISBN 978 0 340 83855 6] is one of the best Scottish novels I’ve read for some time. Nicely plotted, with well-drawn believable characters, and with a story as revealing of the rural community she pictures for us, as the drip-feed of her plot.
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Black Earth City by Charlotte Hobson. Travel non-fiction 7/10
Books By bookworm on 11/6/2008 2:55 PM
Subtitled “A Year in the heart of Russia”, Black Earth City by Charlotte Hobson [ISBN 1 86207 498 4] is a personal narrative of a student spending a year at an obscure Russian University, and giving a picture of the life in the student hostel and life for the Russians. Written around 10 years later than Thubron’s Among the Russians, this book paints a very similar picture of life in Russia – and also leaves the reader wondering again how the Russian’s bodies can cope with all the vodka.
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On Cape Three Points by Christopher Wakling. British thriller 7/10
Books By bookworm on 11/4/2008 10:46 AM
Christopher Wakling’s thriller On Cape Three Points [ISBN 0 330 49340 X] has one of those relentless plots – you know where one little error at the beginning grows and grows into a major horrendous life and death problem where the main character has to keep running to keep his head above water. As things get more and more bizarre things waver a little – but all in all it’s a gripping read.
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On Cape Three Points by Christopher Wakling. British thriller 7/10
Books By bookworm on 11/4/2008 10:46 AM
Christopher Wakling’s thriller On Cape Three Points [ISBN 0 330 49340 X] has one of those relentless plots – you know where one little error at the beginning grows and grows into a major horrendous life and death problem where the main character has to keep running to keep his head above water. As things get more and more bizarre things waver a little – but all in all it’s a gripping read.
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Galileo’s Daughter by Dava Sobel. Historical non-fiction 9/10
Books By bookworm on 11/3/2008 9:48 AM
What an amazing book is Galileo’s Daughter by Dava Sobel [ISBN 1 85702 712 4] – not only is the book an account of the life and times of Galileo, but also gives the context of his work. Best of all it also gives this deep insight into his family life through the letters of his daughter.
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Among the Russians by Colin Thubron. Literary Classic Travel non-fiction 10/10
Books By bookworm on 11/1/2008 10:30 AM
Colin Thubron wrote this book, Among the Russians [ISBN 978 0 552 15462 8] in 1983, and thus gives, probably, a very different picture of Russia – in its heyday of the Soviet Socialist Republics – than today – or perhaps not. On his journey he not only met some fascinating people but joined them convivially in many nights of vodka drinking – though he needed the pot plants often to save him. His lyrical style gives us much information about the people and places he encounters without revealing much about Thubron himself except by the reflection of his words.
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Trial by Blood by John Macken. British crime fiction 8/10
Books By bookworm on 10/30/2008 3:53 PM
John Macken’s second novel Trial by Blood [ISBN 978 0 552 15462 8] is nicely put together – plot based on technical genetic mystery holds much opportunity for crime mixed with science, and add that to a tense narrative of the struggling disgraced scientist trying to find out what happened makes a recipe for a gripping novel.
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Trial by Blood by John Macken. British crime fiction 8/10
Books By bookworm on 10/30/2008 3:53 PM
John Macken’s second novel Trial by Blood [ISBN 978 0 552 15462 8] is nicely put together – plot based on technical genetic mystery holds much opportunity for crime mixed with science, and add that to a tense narrative of the struggling disgraced scientist trying to find out what happened makes a recipe for a gripping novel.
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The Fiddler and the Ferret by Douglas Boyd. British mystery/thriller 7/10
Books By bookworm on 10/29/2008 9:46 AM
Douglas Boyd’s novel The Fiddler and the Ferret [ISBN 0 7515 2186 8] is not a bad read, even though the plot is rather contrived and the action messy – things are all over the place, and though one can’t expect plots, like life, to be logical, a dog-leg novel is irritating at times. Having said that it does move along keeping the reader guessing, so not too much to complain about.
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Fear by Jeff Abbott. American crime thriller 9/10
Books By bookworm on 10/28/2008 9:48 AM
Jeff Abbott’s novel Fear [ISBN 978 0 7515 3832 8] kept me on the edge of my seat. Not that the parts of it were particularly notable – a pretty complex and often clunky plot (based on the old amnesia ploy), and some weirdish characters (though nowadays American characterisations can seem more and more foreign when compared to European novelists) but the narrative is well planned and pacy,
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The Accident Man by Tom Cain. British spy/adventure/thriller 9/10
Books By bookworm on 10/23/2008 8:25 AM
Tom Cain’s novel The Accident Man [ISBN 978 0 552 15535 9] is one of those quite-can’t-believe-it spy/adventure thrillers that are such a good read that you are willing to suspend your disbelief. The plot is probably not entirely believable, but is yet technically OK – many twists and turns and not a bad ending – but it is the fast-paced narrative that really makes this a winner. Its certainly not the linking to a famous royal death which is rightly downplayed.
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Little Face by Sophie Hannah. British thriller 7/10
Books By bookworm on 10/21/2008 2:47 PM
Sophie Hannah’s first novel Little Face [ISBN 978 0 340 84032 0] is a pretty accomplished thriller – scary and suspenseful with psychological tautness and hostility that builds and builds. However, I did feel a tad cheated when grew to realise what the ending would be.
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Behind the Wall by Colin Thubron. Literary Travel writing 10/10
Books By bookworm on 10/20/2008 1:51 PM
Written about a journey across China in about 1983 Behind the Wall by Colin Thubron [ISBN 978 0 099 45932 3] gives a bleak picture of China in the wake of the Cultural Revolution. Thubron is such a gifted writer that he takes the reader with him and lifts the cover off Chinese life in a not-yet-recovering China. For those not conversant with the aftermath of the works of Mao Zedong this is a must-read.
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Dead on Arrival by Mike Lawson. American crime fiction 7/10
Books By bookworm on 10/13/2008 12:00 PM
Mike Lawson’s terrorist/crime/political thriller Dead on Arrival [978 0 00 725629 7] is a good solid read; its not that the plot is particularly brilliant – though you don’t know that at the outset, but the way he strings out the narrative to keep the reader hooked is very skilful. It has a very current lively feel and raises interesting issues about the war on terror and its advantages for politicians.
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The Forgotten Man by Robert Crais. American crime fiction 8/10
Books By bookworm on 10/10/2008 9:13 AM
Robert Crais always writes a pretty good book and The Forgotten Man [ISBN 978 1 4072 1094 0] is just that – our hero Elvis Cole has a patchy kind of life throughout the novels and this book is no exception. The plot is excellent, and narrative moves along revealing snippets at the right time.
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Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks by Christopher Brookmyre 7/10
Books By bookworm on 10/9/2008 2:41 PM
I’m a great fan of Christopher Brookmyre, though this book, Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks appears less edgy and less irreverent than his other books (and less rude language) all of which is a pity though the book is clever and amusing, but not outright-laugh-a-minute as some of his others. The central mystery is really captivating and keeps the reader guessing.
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Borkmann’s Point by Hakan Nesser. Swedish crime mystery 10/10
Books By bookworm on 10/7/2008 9:18 AM
This novel by Hakan Nesser, Borkmann’s Point [ISBN 0 333 98984 8] is translated from Swedish and the morose Scandinavian context is reminiscent of Hennig Mankell’s – but so unfair to compare it as it is good in its own right. The plot is good – and the narrative straightforward, nicely moving and quite gripping. I hope his other books are translated soon. The alternative of me learning Swedish is less likely.
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The Rose of Sebastopol by Katherine McMahon. Historical fiction 5/10
Books By bookworm on 10/3/2008 3:01 PM
Katherine McMahon’s novel The Rose of Sebastopol [ISBN 978 0 7538 2374 3] is not without its historical interest, but it is rather turgid – and the double flashback narratives get very tedious and don’t really add to the story. I found the characters to be less than absorbing – middle class and spoilt women can come over as really annoying in retrospect.
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Dead Irish by John Lescroart. American crime fiction 8/10
Books By bookworm on 10/2/2008 8:25 AM
Dead Irish is John Lescroart’s first novel in the Dismas Hardy series [ISBN 0 451 21427 7] and it is stylish and professionally written, a murder mystery with skilful turns, dry dialogue and a nice quickly-moving narrative. Dismas Hardy is also a pretty unusual and unwilling detective too.
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The Medici Secret by Michael White. Another grail-type adventure 6/10
Books By bookworm on 9/30/2008 6:41 PM
You know how these grail-type search books are. Scientists, lost papers found (but only scraps) clues to treasure hidden all over the place and encrypted, crypts, churches, baddies on the trail, murders, goodies only just ahead etc etc. The Medici Secret by Michael White [ISBN 978 0 099 52018 4] is a mixture of all of these and is mostly very contrived.
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Tainted Blood by Arnaldur Indriason. Icelandic Crime fiction 9/10
Books By bookworm on 9/25/2008 9:40 AM
Arnaldur Indriason’s novel Tainted Blood [ISBN 978 0 099 51312 4] is absorbing and fascinating in every way – not only is the Icelandic context interesting but the central mystery itself is really gripping Its well-planned, well written and a good read.
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Death’s Door by Quintin Jardine. Scottish crime fiction 8/10
Books By bookworm on 9/19/2008 9:13 AM
Death’s Door by Quintin Jardine [ISBN 978 0 7553 2911 3] does not really deserve a 8/10, but it is a pretty good read. I’m afraid that I cannot bear the overweening character of Bob Skinner – its lucky that he was on leave for most of the book. He is so nauseatingly macho and arrogant I’m sure the Scottish police force would manage so much better without him. Goodish plot, good narrative except where Bob takes over with little effect …..
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Absolute Power by David Baldacci. American thriller 9/10
Books By bookworm on 9/17/2008 9:09 AM
David Baldacci’s novel Absolute Power [ISBN 978 0 330 41964 2] kept me pinned to my seat for the duration (not that I made it at one session as it’s quite a weighty tome). The plot is brilliant, though much is revealed to the reader with its pacy double narrative (I like this, you can know so much more than the cops for ages) it doesn’t help you to necessarily work out what will happen.
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1st to Die by James Patterson. American Crime fiction 8/10
Books By bookworm on 9/15/2008 9:01 AM
James Patterson’s 1st to die [CN 19520] is up to his usual professional standard of slick writing. Good plot, plenty of twists to keep you guessing, romance, pathos, etc etc. A good read.
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Triptych by Karin Slaughter. American thriller 8/10
Books By bookworm on 9/12/2008 12:12 PM
Karin Slaughter’s novel Triptych [ISBN 978 0 09 948183 6] is well-constructed with a good plot a nicely structured and paced complex double narrative and a collection of psychologically flawed characters – both goodies and baddies – it’s a miracle how the former ever get near to the latter.
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The Art of Murder by Don West. American Crime (Satire) fiction 5/10
Books By bookworm on 9/11/2008 9:12 AM
Don West’s novel The Art of Murder [ISBN 1 59778 111 8] is such a disappointment - trying for a kind of funnier Mickey Spillane he fails all round for me. Does this man know what satire is we wonder ?
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The Secret Friend by Chris Mooney. American Crime fiction 6/10
Books By bookworm on 9/9/2008 10:00 AM
The Secret Friend by Chris Mooney [ISBN 978 0 141 03087 6] is not a bad read altogether, but I did feel the plot was reminiscent of more than one serial killer novels. The dual narratives (especially that of the killer) gave a growing disturbing creepy feel to the novel, which had a strange twist of having a renegade FBI bloke-turned killer beating her to find all the clues.
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Pursuit by Brian Gallagher. Thriller 8/10
Books By bookworm on 9/8/2008 1:31 PM
The title says it all – Pursuit by Brian Gallagher [ISBN 1 84223 136 7] is just that – a chase. It’s a well-thought out plot though a little far fetched at times, though it’s the well-written narrative that creates a page-turner. The characters are fairly drawn, but not good enough to lose sleep over
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The Art of Dying by Vena Cork. British thriller 8/10
Books By bookworm on 9/5/2008 9:16 AM
Newish author (2nd novel) Vena Cork has written a very readable novel, The Art of dying [ISBN 0 7553 2397 1]The plot is set up quite well with enough red herrings to keep you guessing –and the narrative is nicely structured to keep the reader turning the page (though readers like me who tend to skip the odd paragraph that clearly doesn’t move the plot forward much will turn them much faster at times). The ending is not of the most brilliant but at least she manages to keep you guessing for most of the book.
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The Neon Rain by James Lee Burke. American Crime fiction 10/10
Books By bookworm on 9/4/2008 8:13 AM
This was the first novel of James Lee Burke’s to feature Dave Robicheaux then a New Orleans cop. The Neon Rain[ISBN 0 09 941563 1] was first published in 1987 and I must have missed it. The plots are always good, and the characters fascinating, and altogether the New Orleans/Bayou swamps atmosphere pervades the book.
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Coastliners by Joanne Harris. Literary fiction 6/10
Books By bookworm on 9/3/2008 2:21 PM
Joanne Harris really gets about with her novels – there doesn’t seem to be anywhere she can’t write about as though she knows all its secrets. This has its upside and downside – some strange and patchy novels with a rag bag of issues versus some interesting stuff you didn’t know about some obscure set of folks living – as in this novel Coastliners [ISBN 0 552 99885 0] on a small tidal island off the French coast eroding into the sea.
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The Unbearable Lightness of Scones by Alexander McCall Smith. Light literary humour 7/10
Books By bookworm on 8/29/2008 8:56 AM
This is the fifth 44 Scotland street story and The Unbearable Lightness of Scones [ISBN 978 1 84697 057 3] just extends the serial of these weird people living in Edinburgh – not that they seem weird as you get drawn into their often dysfunctional lives. How people who read this book as their first introduction can work out how relationships came to be so convoluted, I don’t know.
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Peacocks Dancing by Sharon Maas. Literary Fiction 6/10
Books By bookworm on 8/28/2008 12:28 PM
You have to give Peacocks Dancing by Sharon Maas [ISBN 0 00 711847 3] marks for an interesting story given its context – its set in Guyana. But I felt the story writing was annoying disjointed – the almost obligatory chopped up narrative fails to knit together - and the cast of dysfunctional characters failed to gain my sympathy – altogether I found it to be downbeat and depressing.
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The Sleeping Doll by Jeffery Deaver. American thriller 9/10
Books By bookworm on 8/27/2008 8:35 AM
One if his series featuring investigator Kathryn Dance, Jeffery Deaver’s novel The Sleeping Doll [ISBN 978 0 7434 9158 7] is cleverly plotted and suspenseful with a terrific ending (which is a change –so many authors don’t quite know how to end their stories). It reads well and easily – so give a clear weekend to it because you’ll want to finish it.
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A Thousand Bones by P J Parrish. American crime fiction 7/10
Books By bookworm on 8/21/2008 8:40 AM
I found P J Parrish’s novel A Thousand Bones [ISBN 978 1 84739 132 2] quite hard to get into – true, it is well-written with an interesting bunch of characters- and the plot is dense enough. I did, however, find the narrative hard going at several points during the read.
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