Reviews

Chris Petit - The Passenger

'an innovative story but definitely not one to be read on a plane!'

Synopsis:
After the American bound Pan-Am jet explodes over Lockerbie, Collard has to cope not only with the relief of deciding not to board the plane but also his grief over his son, Nick, who is presumed to be amongst the dead. But Nick soon becomes is a possible suspect for the bombing and there is a possibility that he never boarded the plane. As Collard sets out to prove his son's innocence, he enters a world of spies and corruption, which has its origins in a meeting in Wales two years earlier.

Review:
This is a strange and unusual thriller set around the real life explosion of the plane over Lockerbie. The author has written a fictional story around the motive for the bombing, in a plot, which extends from Europe to the Middle East and the US. There are two parallel story lines. The first involves Collard's search for his son, while the second revolves around the mysterious Angleton, a former CIA chief who lurks in the shadows and follows Collard's progress closely. It is certainly an innovative story but definitely not one to be read on a plane! The first few pages describing the plane's break-up in the sky is truly horrific.

Reviewed by: S. W.

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Qiu Xiaolong - Death of a Red Heroine

"…brings to life the sounds, smells and, yes, even the taste of China."

Synopsis:
This novel is set in Shanghai in 1990. The Communist State controls nearly everything, although there are examples of privately run businesses and individual entrepreneurs developing within the economy. The Party holds immense power and influence in every part of life. When a prominent "national model worker" is found murdered, Chief Inspector Chen is advised to keep the crime away from publicity as it might be "political". Chief Inspector Chen and his assistant Detective Yu uncover details, which implicate the family of a respected former Party official in a particularly nasty killing.

Chen is a poet who sees reminders of poetry in the world around him. He is also an honourable man who wants to see the murderer brought to justice - even if it means losing both his job and his respected place in the community.

Review:
This is a delightful first novel, which manages to develop an exciting story line with believable and likeable characters. It brings to life the sounds, smells and, yes, even the taste of China. I loved the excerpts from Chinese poetry, which seemed to permeate the whole of Chen's life and were beautiful little snippets describing intense moments. It was a privilege to observe Chinese everyday life from one who so recently was living it. In short, I loved this book.

Reviewed by: S. D.

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Francesca Weisman - The Shape of a Stranger

"This is a strong follow-up and I look forward to the next Weisman!"

Synopsis:
One summer's evening, Callum Scott is violently attacked as he walks his dog across the heath. The police say he is lucky to be alive as another man was also attacked a week earlier. He wasn't so lucky. It transpires that someone is after Callum and they want him dead.

At the same time, his computer is the only thing taken during a burglary at the office. Strange things begin to happen that alarm Callum and put his life in danger. Also, since the attack Callum's eyesight has become badly blurred so that he can easily mistake one person for another. Will this hinder him spotting who his potential murderer may be?

Review:
Writing a second book is always difficult. Especially when your debut novel is so good and well received. I enjoyed this book and Ms. Weisman again takes the format produced in her first book, with alternating chapters, one set in the present and one in the past. We have Callum literally stumbling about in the dark after his attack, being visited by weird and wonderful visions. In the other chapters we get to learn about Rosie and her past, which, we discover, is closely linked with Callum's.

Ms. Weisman's writing is gripping and flows freely so you are suddenly a hundred pages down the road in no time. My only issue is that there seemed to be a large number of characters that just came and went in the book without their seeming to be any real reason for them being there. The writer, however, does come up with a brilliant twist at the end of the book and, as someone who reads an awful lot of crime novels, I really was lead down the garden path (literally!) with this one. The ending is, perhaps, slightly chaotic, but that is life. I really did sympathise with Rosie although the reader is probably not supposed to feel like that. The poor girl hasn't had an easy ride! This is a strong follow-up and I look forward to the next Weisman!

Reviewed by: C. S.

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Denise Hamilton - Savage Garden

'…Denise Hamilton shines in her depiction of LA journalism.'

Synopsis:
Eve Diamond, a reporter on the Los Angeles Times, accompanies her boyfriend, Silvio, to the home of a missing actress who has failed to appear for the opening night of a play. They both subsequently come under suspicion when the unstable actress is found murdered. Meanwhile, Eve has professional worries as she is forced to act as mentor to an up-and-coming junior reporter who is dead set on obtaining that all important scoop…

Review:
This is the second Eve Diamond mystery I have read and I enjoyed the depiction of LA life. The characters involved in the film and theatre industry are satisfyingly superficial and there was certainly an interesting twist at the end. The relationship between Eve and Silvio appears to be going nowhere and I found it slightly irritating to read about. We'll see where that one leads, no doubt, in future books. However, the professional life of Eve Diamond is fascinating and it is here, once again, that Denise Hamilton shines in her depiction of LA journalism. A good read.

Reviewed by: S. W.

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Sara Paretsky - Fire Sale

"Sara Paretsky's greatest strength is her plotting and this book proves no exception."

Synopsis:
VI Warshawski is telephoned in desperation by her former basketball coach who asks if she would fill in as coach at her old high school. After reluctantly agreeing, VI becomes embroiled in the affairs of a local company called By-Smart when Billy Bysen, the 19-year-old grandson of its owner, disappears. Meanwhile, VI is hired by the mother of one of the basketball players to investigate sabotage at the local flag-making factory. When the factory is blown up, the two cases begin to merge and the lives of VI and her friends are drawn into the dark corporate world of south Chicago and its immigrant workers.

Review:
This is Sara Paretsky's twelfth novel and a welcome return of VI Warshawski. VI's character has developed gradually through the novels and there are familiar faces including Lotty Herschel and the police commander and former lover, Conrad Rawlings. Sara Paretsky's greatest strength is her plotting and this book proves no exception. The novel moves between the worlds of the Latino immigrant community, the poor high school team, By-Smart's corporate world and the born-again Christian life of the Bysen family with ease.

The beginning of the book seemed a bit slow paced for my taste, told in flashback by VI as she recovers from the factory explosion. However, once the action starts it is classic Paretsky territory - and a very good read!

Reviewed by: S.W.

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Ann Cleeves - Raven Black

"The portrayal of a small community where everyone knows everyone's business is accurate and very convincing."

Synopsis:
Shetland's peace and quiet is shattered when the body of teenager, Catherine Ross, is found brutally murdered in the snow not far from her home. Local policeman, Jimmy Perez, takes charge until the arrival of reinforcements from the mainland. Jimmy tries to maintain a detached and impartial view, despite the overwhelming local view that the perpetrator is Magnus Tait, an odd loner who was suspected of involvement in the earlier disappearance of a young girl.

Suspicion and tension build up in a community that is used to worrying about its children's safety, leading to the unmasking of the killer who has been living unsuspected in their midst…

Review:
This is a gripping story, which succeeds in keeping interest from the first page. The characters are sympathetic, the pace rapid and the plot successfully keeps you guessing till the very last minute. The portrayal of a small community where everyone knows everyone's business is accurate and very convincing. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Reviewed by: S. D.

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Ken Bruen - Priest

"Jack is, in essence, a good man, though very misguided. He has successfully managed to fall down every pitfall that has got in his way."

Synopsis:
Father Joyce has been found in the confessional booth with his head sliced off. His head had been placed on the floor by his feet. Jack Taylor has just been released from a mental institute. He has a lot of demons. One is drinking. Another is smoking. One is his bad relationship with his deceased mother. The biggest demon is that he let a three-year-old girl fall to her death while he was supposed to be looking after her.

When Jack arrives back at Galway he becomes involved with the case of the beheaded priest, who was a well-known paedophile within the church community. Jack starts to scratch away at the surface and finds that the permutations of sexual abuse have far reaching consequences…

Review:
Bruen is one of those writers who are highly praised by huge writers of our generation, yet he is also one whose books seem to have slipped in through the back door rather than arrive via the front with a huge fanfare. Why this is so, I cannot say. Bruen's prose is clipped and precise. Many books are thrown aside because they try to pad out their pages with excess baggage which is neither integral to the plot or of any interest. Ken Bruen just gives you the story in a very simple, humane voice.

The reader senses every one of Taylor's demons, especially the drinking. Jack is, in essence, a good man, though very misguided. He has successfully managed to fall down every pitfall that has got in his way. To be honest, the case of the murdered priest is in the background throughout the novel and is often somewhat secondary to Jack's hazardous day-to-day living. However, this does not mean it isn't a brilliant read. I flew through this book and loved every concise, essential word.

Reviewed by: C. S.

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Patrick Redmond - All She Ever Wanted

'A gripping read.'

Synopsis:
Chrissie Ryan is a woman with a mission to get on in life and she won't let any man stand in her way. She has reinvented herself, transforming the bullied Tina Ryan of her youth into the confident and assured woman she now is. But when she meets Jack, a man living on a barge who reminds her of her absent father, she cannot stop herself falling for him. This is a complicated relationship. One that she tries to prevent by dating the dashing Alexander Gallen - with devastating results!

Review:
Fans of Nicci French will enjoy this psychological thriller that focuses on a woman's attempt to reinvent herself and the devastation it causes to those around her. The novel starts with police interviewing a suspect in a brutal murder case, so it is clear at the beginning that a savage murder has taken place. However, the identity of the suspect and the murder victim is not revealed until the end and you cannot help but try and guess what has happened throughout the book. A gripping read.

Reviewed by: S. W.

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Stav Sherez - The Devil's Playground

"The story of Jewish identity spans the holocaust and contemporary Europe and the depiction of modern-day Nazi sympathisers is shocking."

Synopsis:
The discovery of a tramp in an Amsterdam park leads writer, Jon Reed, to leave his home in England to help find the murderer of the man he briefly knew as Jake Colby. Detective Ronald van Hijn in Amsterdam is connecting the case with a series of brutal murders of young women in the city. Soon rumours are circulating that canisters of film showing atrocities of the Holocaust have been discovered and there is a conspiracy that extends beyond Holland to the neo-Nazi underworld of Europe.

Review:
This is an excellent first novel from Stav Sherez. He writes with great confidence about life in Amsterdam and the unfolding police investigation. There are a number of plot lines to the book, but the threads are held together by the story of Jon Reed and his personal investigation into the death of the enigmatic Jake Colby. The story of Jewish identity spans the holocaust and contemporary Europe and the depiction of modern-day Nazi sympathisers is shocking. An interesting sub-theme for me is Jon Reed's passion for contemporary music and this element is subtly written into the plot. Highly recommended.

Reviewed by: S. W.

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