Reviews

Barbara Vine - The Minotaur

“As it says on the cover, Barbara Vine is Ruth Rendell letting rip - and this is certainly the case with The Minotaur!”

Synopsis:
The story takes us back 35 years to the swinging sixties, which hadn’t quite yet reached the outer reaches of the Essex countryside. Julia Cosway, the matriarch, lives at Lydstep Old Hall with her daughters, Ida, Winifred, Ella and, sometimes, Zorah. Kirsten Kvist, has been given a post as a carer in the huge house. She is brought in to look after Julia’s son, John, who is supposedly schizophrenic. As time goes by Kirsten is shocked by the amount of drugs the family is pumping in to John and she begins to wonder if he is as mad as his mother and sisters suggest.

Soon there is an announcement of a wedding and the arrival of a colourful artist in the village. Both these men will be the catalyst of the terrible things that eventually happen at Lydstep Old Hall…

Review:
As it says on the cover, Barbara Vine is Ruth Rendell letting rip - and this is certainly the case with The Minotaur!

Vine paints a wonderful picture of the sixties. A time when there were no computers, mobile phones, faxes or e-mails. There is only one telephone in the whole house and this is watched over by the mother, Julia Cosway. Julia Cosway is a particularly brilliant ‘monster’! Nobody is spared her vitriolic tongue. The family begrudgingly rely heavily on the youngest daughter, Zorah for any finance or expensive treats. Zorah in turn, treats them all with deep contempt. The other three daughters live with their mother, and none of them seems likely to marry. It is with the announcement of an engagement and the arrival of a colourful artist that events start spiralling out of control and the family begins to destroy itself with petty jealousies and one-upmanship.

The reader is transported back to the sixties and feels the frustration that grows in Kirstin as she is gradually ground down by the vile Cosway family. It seems that the only reason she stays is to protect or, at least, keep an eye on John. This motley cast of characters really makes you keep turning those pages! This is a brilliant book that shows that Vine is again, top of her craft with plenty of power in her writing.

Reviewed by C.S.

CrimeSquad Rating

Harlan Coben - The Innocent

“Absolutely vintage Harlan Coben – great stuff!”

Synopsis:
Matt Hunter’s life is slowly getting back on track after spending four years in jail after being found guilty of accidentally killing someone in a teenage brawl.

Since being released from jail, Matt has found work and also met the woman of his dreams. However, his new life starts to unravel on the day he gets a new mobile phone with a camera. A picture of a man he doesn’t know is sent to him, along with a video message of his wife.

He needs to find out what his wife is doing, and is she really the person he thought she was. Why is this happening to him - and who can he trust?

Catherine and Bobby are brought together, both needing each other's help, but neither sure who they can trust. A killer is out there, and no one is above suspicion.

Review:
This is a typically brilliant offering from Harlan Coben, with the story-line gripping you from the first line.

Matt has married Olivia and they are moving to a new family home after recently finding out they are expecting their first child. However, all his dreams come crashing down when he receives first a photo on his camera phone, then a video message of his wife.

Who has sent this video? All clues lead to Reno and Vegas, which is where the story culminates and Matt finds all the answers he has been looking for. The question is; does he want to know?

This is another excellent thriller that you will be unable to put down. Highly recommended. Absolutely vintage Harlan Coben – great stuff!

Reviewed by H.A.

CrimeSquad Rating

Ken Follett - Whiteout

“This book has the stamp of a master storyteller having fun writing a roller coaster of a novel.”

Synopsis:
Stanley Oxonford’s family always congregates at his remote farmhouse over the Christmas period. Stanley owns a pharmaceutical research company, which has been developing a vaccine against a deadly virus.

Stanley’s head of security, Toni Gallo, has her work cut out for her on Christmas Eve. What should have been a quiet evening turns out to be anything but…!

Review:

The story bounces along at a cracking pace! This is a real page-turner. The fact that the story is played out in time increments, not chapters, keeps you thinking; “I’ll read just a few more pages’. Next thing you know it is a hundred pages later and 3 a.m.!

This book has the stamp of a master storyteller having fun writing a roller coaster of a novel. It has all the right ingredients. Danger, adventure, romance, betrayal and some of the nastiest monsters you will ever meet – or hope to meet. I recommend you buy, borrow or steal this book and promise you will not be able to put it down until after you have gone through the whole 48 hours with Toni Gallo!

Reviewed by C.S.

CrimeSquad Rating

Francesca Weisman - Nowhere’s Child.

“The plot was totally gripping - very easy to get into and it really held my interest.”

Synopsis:
In 1980, a young model/singer is found brutally murdered in a deserted London street. Detective Smallbone is called in and soon discovers that nobody really knew anything about the young celebrity who had recently been splashed all over the newspapers and magazines. He is no nearer the truth when a turn of events brings the case to a sudden conclusion.

Over twenty years later, the case comes back to haunt Smallbone in the guise of an autistic man called Kit. Who is he? What does he have to do with that old case from 1980? Then another murder occurs and it seems that someone is also targeting Smallbone. Soon the truth will have to come out.

Review:

The story encompasses a time-span from the mid seventies to 2001. The first half of the book revolves around Detective Smallbone who is handling the murdered model case and a group of children who live in a care home called Hollybush House. It is from here that their history is shown and the pieces begin to connect together.

I really enjoyed this book. I had it finished in three days, which for a slow reader like me, is very good going! The plot was totally gripping - very easy to get into and it really held my interest. Throughout the novel various different scenarios are given so you keep wondering what the solution could be… but (as in all the best Crime novels) it isn’t until near the very end that everything is explained.

Reviewed by C.S.

CrimeSquad Rating

Michael Ridpath - On the Edge

“This is fast paced story with plenty of intrigue to keep you guessing till the end!”

Synopsis:
After a flying accident as an RAF fighter pilot, Alex Calder looks for a career that allows him to still have the excitement and thrill of taking big risks and builds a successful career as a Bond Trader in London.

Alex soon wants to review his choice of career after seeing a different side of his industry following the suicide of a colleague, Jennifer Tan. Jennifer had chosen to pursue a case of sexual harassment against her bosses and her untimely death is a mystery.

Twelve months later Alex has put this behind him and opened a flying school. However, the past comes back to haunt him when a former colleague disappears after an accident that occurs whilst visiting a client of Bloomfield Weiss, the company he used to work for.

Unable to help Jennifer, he vows to see that justice is done this time, even if it means risking everything he has… including his life!

Review:

The story takes the reader from the fast paced life of a jet pilot, to the heady heights of a successful bond trader in London.

Alex Calder is the man who has it all. A good job that he loves and plenty of money to enjoy his life.

However, he soon realises neither money or his career are important when he is forced to face the way his colleague is treated after she puts forward a case of sexual harassment against her boss, and seemingly unable to cope with this stress, she commits suicide.

This is fast paced story with plenty of intrigue to keep you guessing till the end!

Reviewed by H.A.

CrimeSquad Rating

Catherine Sampson - Falling Off Air

“A very good start to what will, I’m sure, be a very entertaining series.”

Synopsis:
Robin is an exhausted mother with twins. One night, when looking out of her window, she witnesses her celebrity neighbour fall to her death. With another death closer to home, the police soon begin to see Robin as a suspect. Robin begins a desperate race to find the real murderer who has killed to keep an even worse nightmare from being revealed.

Review:

Catherine Sampson has created a very loveable woman in Robin Ballantyne. She was once a high-flyer in the Television industry who, unexpectedly having borne twins from a doomed relationship, is now trying to get her feet back on to the bottom rung of TV. It looks as though Robin will get a job back at her old company, although she will be greatly sidelined. This all blows up in her face when she witnesses the demise of her neighbour, a very well known MP. After another murder even closer to home makes Robin a virtual pariah, she starts digging to prove her innocence. The clues lead her to an even more terrible hidden truth and Robin finds out that close friends were not all she thought they were.

I greatly enjoyed this book and found the plot believable and the characters incredibly vivid. This debut novel is a very good start to what will, I’m sure, be a very entertaining series.

Macmillan will publish the follow-up novel, Out of Mind, in August 2005.

Reviewed by C.S.

CrimeSquad Rating