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They named me Eddie
after Mum's father
who died before I was born.
'A queit, stubborn bastard,'
says my dad.
I am not sure if he's talking about
grandad or me.
Title: Cold Skin
Author: Steven Herrick
ISBN: 9781741751291
Publisher: Allen & Unwin/2007
Pages: 264
A story told in verse, it is about a teenaged boy Eddie Holder, who lives in a small mining town, Burruga in Australia. The time period is after the world war II. He wants to leave school and work as a miner but his dad is dead against it. HIs brother Larry wishes to leave the town after finishing school. Their teacher, Mr Butcher is not a good man and is detested by most people in that town, including the Mayor.
Nothing much seems to be happening other than small fights. Then a beautiful girl is found murdered, and the suspicion of her murder falls on many men of that town. And truthfully anyone could have done it.
Told in the voices of Eddie, Larry and Sally, the teacher and Mayor, the story unfolds beautifully. Initially the voices do seem disjointed but tie up in a satisfying manner. Told in the form of verse, the chapters are at the most two pages and contain everything in a nutshell. Herrick has managed to hold that tension essential for whodunits until the end.
Eddie likes to observe people and draw his own conclusions. And it is from his viewpoints that we are able to get into the heart and mind of the characters in this fast-paced book. Works well as a YA novel.
And I am a sucker for poetry, I totally loved this book. Thanks to the author for my copy!
"All of them? Even the children?" The fireplace stuttered and cackled and swallowed his gasp. Slaughtered?"
"Worse."
Title: The Brutal Telling
Author: Louise Penny
ISBN: 9780312377038
Publisher: Minotaur Books/2009
Pages: 372
The opening lines set the mood and tone of this novel. How can one wish not to know more? In the village of Three Pines near Montreal, with no crime ratings, a murder is committed. The body is found in a bistro and antique store. The victim is a total stranger and the motive of the murder is almost impossible to find out. And Chief Inspector Gamache arrives with his team to investigate. Even he is flabbergasted.
The villagers are rather closely knit. The Bistro is owned by Oliver and his gay partner Gabri along with B & B next door. Gamache's investigations lead him to a small hut in the deep woods. Now this hut contains priceless antiques. Who owns it and how has he come about the antiques? When Gamache gets into the bottom of it along with his team, Jean Guy Beauvoir and Isabelle Lacoste, he finds the identity of the victim, , the motive, the weapon and the original place of murder. However, the mystery of the murderer doesn't get to be resolved any time soon.
When Gamache gets into the bottom of it, layer by layer, he is just as astounded as as to find the identity of the killer. Although this is not the nail-biting, seating on the edge of the chair kind of mystery, yet it has that cozy feel to it. We do wish to know more. Chief Inspector Gamache is a likeable character, maybe genial at times but has a keen sense of observation and is a force to reckon with for those who are on the wrong side of the law.
What appealed to me most was the eccentric poet, Ruth. She speaks in riddles, yet she has great understanding and depth. Her presence in the book makes it mystical.
Louise Penny is worth checking out. Thanks to Staci of Life in the thumb, for the ARC. She was kind enough to send it all the way to Delhi!
Also reviewed by:
rhapsodyinbooks
Michelle's Masterful Musings
Kittling Books
Ms. Bookish
Jen's Book Thoughts
Mary could never have been expected to guess what was to come, because there was no precursor, no warning, nothing indicative of a change.
Title: Prince Rupert's Teardrops
Author: Lisa Glass
ISBN: 9781906120153
Publisher: Two Ravens Press/2009
Pages: 217
Mary 58, lives with her 94-year-old mother Meghranoush, who is a seamstress. Mary is taken for a mental case by most people and is on an enforced medical leave from work. She has fights with her mother, who speaks English mixed with Armenian. Meghranoush is a survivor of the Armenian genocide by the Turkish army which took place in the eary twentieth century. Hence her memories are interlaced with those horrifying times.
One day Mary's mother disappears. And Mary can't go to the police as she is taken for a nutcase. Her biggest fear is that, everyone would think she killed her own mother. So it's on Mary to find her. She finds glass birds, her mother's thimble and so many small clues and suddenly knows the worst.
Meanwhile, there is this serial killer, who specialises on killing elderly people. He is a glass blower, who burns the bodies in his furnace and uses those ashes to colour the vases he makes. He too has some childhood issues.
In her search, we get to dig into Mary's mind, her complex thoughts, her confused state and her relationship with her mother. Mary might be 58 but she needs her mother. She knows she has to take revenge if something happens to her. We also get to know about the killer's way of thinking and Meghranoush's terrifying memories. While we are inside Mary's mind, it at times gets difficult to differentiate the real from the imaginary. We too understand Mary's compulsions in finding the killer. And how the genocide which took place long ago, has power to get hold of one's entire being.
The suspense is maintained throughout, the finish is befitting and Mary finds her peace. Expecially what I liked about this book is the surreal aspect and usage of really beautiful words. Each page has something new for us. Initially Mary does seem weird but she does endear herself in the end. It is not a book for everyone but those who like good prose, a sustainable suspense and like to delve the minds, I would recommend it highly. A mystery worth reading.
Added this bit after Kathy's comment:
The drops of melted glass are known as Prince Rupert's drops. With high temperature those can cause grave hurt, if not handled carefully.
Monica Cassidy felt a flutter in her stomach. Today would be the day.
Title: Kill For Me
Author: Karen Rose
ISBN: 9780446510301
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing/2009
Pages: 416
This is my first novel by Karen Rose and certainly not the last! Although it is supposed to be last of a trilogy, it stands alone too. I have had this book for a while now, thanks to the author but somehow I never got around reading it until now.
Monica is a survivor out of six girls who have been brutally beaten up. All others died. She is one of those teenage girls who are lured via the chatrooms and are sold to the highest bidder. As she is the only one who can help reveal the villains, she is kept closely guarded. However, she is not safe even in a hospital. The murderes can go to any length to wipe her out.
Susannah Vartanian has personal scores to settle with those murderes. Along with Luke Papadopolous, she dwelves into her murky past in order to save innocent girls. Internet crimes are common and young teenaged girls are easily lured, brutally used and then sold off. When Luke comes to know of her secret, he cannot fathom how she survived this long. Each murder, each crime committed against the young girls, becomes a personal vendetta for him. He has to get into the bottom of it, no matter what.
With complex set of peoples, intricately built storyline, which is so very real, the novel keeps us totally involved till the end. The writing style is good too, as it ought to be for a crime fiction.
As I teach teenaged girls, it freaked me out too. I had a little chat with them about chatrooms and internet crimes.
"I've been shot before. And I've taken my share of beatings. I was even left for dead once. But I've never been beaten, shot, and buried alive on the same day."
Title: Tommy Gun Tango
Author: Brant Randall/Bruce Cook
ISBN: 9780979996030
Publisher: Capital Crime Press/2009
Pages: 284
Set in the 1930s, in Los Angelos, this novel moves forward from the view points of four people, who become tangled with each other. At the height of depression, it all about survival in the land of opportunity.
Marshal Lawe is a County Marshall in a small town in Massachusetts, Peony Springs. After losing his job, he starts for for California. Enroute, he picks up, Al Haine who has fled from Ireland in the 1920s, after commiting a murder. Al Haine has worked for mobs, gambled and is always on a look out for making easy money, by hook or by crook.
Gloria Alwyn had run her own little diner in Peony Springs, but lost it. She had headed for her aunt's, where she finds a job at a jazz club and restaurant. Unfortunately, Gloria runs into bad luck again and calls out to Marshall for help. Both had a past and had been in love in Peony Springs. She too is a complete contrast to Gayle Barton-Poole, a wannabe actress known in Peony Springs as Jackie Sue, and had runaway from home. She ends up with Al.
Tommy Gun Tango sucks us into the characters as well as what is going on in Los Angeles. The movie moghuls, with all of their money and clout, buy and sell justice at the drop of a hat, doing the best to hide the crimes of the movie actors. There is this Hollywood tabloid which writes about stories involving famous people the movie industry. This is what it very authentic where money can pay up for anything. Especially at the time of depression.
Marshal, Gloria, Al and Gayle get embroiled in all this. Marshall does not like it at all but Al and Gayle have no qualms about making it to their advantage.
The authior has made the place, people and the times come out alive. With colourfull pasts, each one is victim in one way or the other. And one has to learn to survive, no mattr what. Otherwise sharks will eat them alive. And when an famous actrees husband dies, each one of is forced to face the truth about themselves.
Moving forward with fast pace, it holds our interest till the end. And also still relevant as it was in the 1920s or 1930s. The prejudices for colour, religion and lot more stll exist, however we might deny those.
Thanks to the author for sending me the ARC.
Title: The World I Never Made
Author: James Lepore
ISBN: 978098608723
Publisher: The Story Plant/2009
Pages: 262
Pat Nolan arrives in Paris to identify the body of his estranged daughter, Megan. They have had a love-hate realtionship. However, when Pat looks at the body, he knows it is not Megan's. However, he doesn't let the Paris police know and gets the body cremated as soon as possible. Pat somehow senses that by faking her death, Megan is reaching out to him, asking for his help. He has to find her. Meanwhile, there are people who suspect that Megan is very much alive and only way to get to her is by following Pat. Abdel Lahani, a powerful Saudi businessman settled in Morocco has his own reasons to find her. Megan and he had a torrid affair and he is not prepared to let go.
Catherine Laurence, a Paris detective takes a long needed leave from her work and joins Pat Nolan on his quest for his daughter. Nolan and Laurence journey through France, Morocco and Czech Rebuplic with the French Police and a band of International Terrorists behind them. This proximity leads them to find love with each other. Both have demons to kill yet both their souls merge.
A World I Never Made is relatable in the present context of terrorism. The back and forth movement of the novel helps it understanding better. Pat and Catherine are moving in the present but Megan's story moves from the past. Both threads do not interfere with each other and only converge when it needs to be, not before. It also depicts fanatics at their best, with no rhyme or reason. It is an unputdownable novel.
Yet I found a few loose ends. When Megan and Pat do meet, they separate just as soon. It was kind of a let down. Catherine's relationship with her husband is mentioned but no reason is given why she hated him so much. And why she feels guilty now that he is dead. Terrorism is main theme of the novel. And it could have been covered in a bit more detail.
However, one does find redeeming features where there are people who take care of Megan, no matter what, hiding her and also giving their own lives for her. Megan is not really with the terrorists but she is researching about it. For those very reason, I can say it is a very readable book. Thanks James, for the signed copy!
Title: The Merry Misogynist
Author: Colin Cotterill
ISBN: 9781569475560
Publisher: Soho Press/2009
Pages: 274
I was very pleased to get an ARC of the yet to be published The Merry Misogynist. Another Dr Siri Paiboun mystery. Our almost 74-year-old good doctor is back, now married to Madam Daeng and feeling younger day by day.
There is this serial killer who marries nubile young girls and then kills them the same day. And because lack of networking, such cases have virtually gone unreported. Our good doctor smells a rat and takes it upon himself to find out the killer. Ofcourse, he has help from his friends Dtui, her policeman husband Phoesy, and his wife Madam Daeng.
Meanwhile, our doctor is being harrassed by the housing people for letting people live in his govt accommodation. He has this habit of helping out everyone who is in need of it. So we also see him bending the law slightly to suit him.
There are some great descriptions of a Buddha temple and other landscapes. Another mystery which makes us breeze through it. Cotterill does creat very plausible charaters and can hold our interest till the end. Idiosyncrasies and all.
Other Colin Cotterill books I have read:
Disco of the Departed
Curse of the Pogo Stick
Click on the titles to read the reviews.
I try not to judge, but from the get-go, I didn't like Albert's friend. Kirk Douglas, not his real name, was twenty-seven years old.
Title: Chinatown Angel
Author: A. E. Roman
ISBN: 9780312375003
Publisher: Minotaur Books/2009
Pages: 275
Chico Santana is a lonely man. His wife Ramona has left him and he has just drifted for six months. A girl goes missing and as he is a private Investigator, he is offered the job of finding the Chineses-Cuban-American girl, Tiffany who does not wish to be found. Chico thinks it is a easy job. Pilar, Kirk Atlas's maid cum lover falls from the roof. Police assume it is a suicide and close the case. But Chico has a bad feeling about it. Tiffany's own family does not want her to be found and Chico gets embroiled in their family politics. Even when Chico is told to leave the case alone, he does not turn back. He has to find the truth, no matter what. And he stumbles upon closely guarded family secret which also affects his friend, Albert.
Kirk Atlas wants to make it big in Hollywood and so does Albert who aspires to be a great actor. Kirk Atlas belongs to a well known family and Tiffany is his first cousin. Albert is in a relationship with Olga, who is Tiffany's sister and there is no love lost betweem them.
Right from the beginning, Chico Santana is a likeable character. He has not learnt to turn back from finding out the truth. Even if he is offered good money for it. His wife Ramona is a well known writer and Chico is the one without money. He is in love with her and pines for her all the time, other women nonwithstanding.
The novel moves forward in a good pace. With many twists and turns, it manages to keep us hooked. It shows us New York city with it varied people, from street people to those live in penthouses. It also retains its wit throughout. For a debut, it is a good read.
Blue Rose Creek, California Maggie Conlin left her home believing a lie. She believed that her life was normal again.
Title: Six Seconds
Author: Rick Mofina
ISBN: 9780778326120
Publisher: Mira/2009 Pages: 469
This year I have been reading a lot of crime fiction. Six Seconds too belongs somewhat to that genre. It is more a novel on terrorists and terror attacks, Jihadists and all. The issue which is very contemporary. When I requested for an ARC of the book, Rick Mofina was kind enough to send me one.
When Maggie goes to pick her son from school for a soccer match, she finds out that Jake her husband had picked him and vanished without a trace. Maggie runs from pillar to post but with no avail.
A nurse Samara, has been raped and has lost her husband and Son in Iraq to merciless American soldiers. She vows revenge on them. To achieve that she gets involved with truck driver, who used to do Iraq rounds.
Daniel Graham who belongs to Royal Canadian Mountain Police is trying to forget his sadness over his wife's death by pulling the trigger on himself near Faust river, when he is somehow compelled to watch out for rescue operations. He does manage to get hold of a little girl who dies in his arms, after uttering a few words. He feels so guilty and has to find out what happened to the Canadian family who seem to have been drowned.
All three events seem disconnected, yet there is something which is common for all. Graham's search leads him to a school in Montana where the Pope is supposed to visit. Although Graham is told to give up his search, he has to go on. And thus he unravels a plot to kill the Pope, all in six seconds. However, no one knows how as no weapon, nothing is detected.
In the backdrop of todays terrorism, this novel feels as if it is real and feasible. And it keeps us hooked too. The leader of the terrorist group remains unseen and faceless. This makes it very scary too. Isn't it what is happening today? Mofina sure knows how to write a crime fiction, or should I call it terrorism fiction? I wouldn't call the prose great but who really thinks about that while reading a fast paced crime thriller.
Monday 5 May, 2.21 pm
"Some say that I am quarrelsome. Others hold that I'm a gossip. Fact is, I'm just interested in the truth, me being sworn to uphold the law. I take the workings of justice serious."
