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"I haven't said a word to the bastard since the night I turned thirteen. I was strapped to the bed. It was my birthday present to myself."
~Page 646, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
Title: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
Author: Stieg Larsson
ISBN: 9781849162753
Publisher: Quercus/2009
Pages: 743
The last of the millennium trilogy seemed very long to me. Maybe because I am going through a reading slump. I really wanted to know so much more about Lisbeth Salander yet my reading was pretty slow. This has more narration than action. And tries to tie all the loose ends about Salander.
Starting from where The Girl Who Played With Fire left off, it makes the reader yearn to save her life and protect Salander. She is seriously injured and is in the hospital with no visitors allowed. And she is also accused of couple of murders. In this novel, we learn how much wrong has been done to her since she was 12 years old, a mere girl. All this to save her father from being exposed and along with him, the nexus of certain government officials of Sweden.
Blomkvist along with well wishers of Salander is determined to save her from this nexus. We get to meet Dr. Teleborian, the evil doctor who is instrumental in locking up Salander.
Despite her isolation, and along with the help of her friends, we find Salander again in her elements. This novel has political undertones and of course the courtroom scene is such that one can't waver from it till the end.
I will say this again that Larsson has created memorable character in Lisbeth Salander and not only her, his depiction of the evil characters is also very good. I say Lisbeth Salander is not going to die in the mind of the readers for a very long time to come.
Title: Grace Under Pressure
Author: Julie Hyzy
ISBN: 9780425235218
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime/2010
Pages: 310
Grace Under Pressure is set in a Manor in Emberstowne and is a cozy mystery. Grace Wheaton is the assistant curator of Marshfield Manor. Just when she thinks her life is settled, the curator of the Manor is murdered. It seems like a mistaken killing as the killer wanted to get the owner Bennett Marshfield.
Grace takes over as the curator and starts to investigate the murder in her own fashion. She discovers that everyone is trying to get a piece out of the owner. She discovers some dubious financial dealings. And while searching through her own papers left to her by her mother, she finds a link with Manor.
Grace does whatever it takes to save the Manor despite the skeletons tumbling out. It is good cozy mystery and Hyzy has created a good character in Grace. This is the first book in the Manor of murder mystery series. Worth looking at..
"Did you have a guilty mind when you watched Dez Fisher die?"
"Let's try this again. Are you Annie O'Sullivan from Clayton Falls?"
"Yes. Am I on Vancouver Islands?"
"You don't know?"
"That's why I'm asking."
Title: Still Missing
Author: Chevy Stevens
ISBN: 9780312595678
Publisher: St. Martins Press/2010
Pages: 352
I read Still Missing right after reading Stolen by Lucy Christopher. The similarity in both the books is the Kidnapping. Both are scary too, for obvious reasons. And blew my mind completely.
As there is no specific topic for this weeks' Weekly Geeks, I thought why not post a review? Here I go:
You saw me before I saw you. In the airport, that day you had that look in your eyes, as though you wanted something from me, as though you'd wanted it for a long time time.
Also reviewed by:
When David Pepin first dreamed of killing his wife, he didn't kill her himself. He dreamed convenient acts of God. At a picnic on the beach, a storm front moved in. David and Alice collected their chairs, blankets, and booze, and when the lightning flashed, David imagined his wife lit up, her skeleton distinctly visible as in a children's cartoon, Alice then collapsing into a smoking pile of ash.
~~Page 3
Title: Mr. Peanut
Author: Adam Ross
ISBN: 9780307270702
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf/2010
Pages: 335
When Alice is found dead, David is assumed to be murderer. After all he was always thinking of her death. Not exactly murdering her, but in numerous ways she should die. The two police detectives who are investigating the death, have their own marital relationship in shambles.
Ward Hastroll's wife Hannah has retreated into their bedroom and has not surfaced for the last few months. Hastroll is in his wits end how to communicate with her. Long time back, Sam Sheppard too had been a suspect for his wife Marilyn, death but was set free due to lack of enough evidence. He had left his medical practice to become a detective.
While investigating, these men go over their own marital relationships, which still confounds them. When a hit men Mobius is found linked to David Pepin, things get murkier. Everything seems to be pieces of different zigsaw puzzles, unconnected with each other. The best and worst of conjugal relationship is depicted here. The love going side by side with tenderness and ugliness, the affection along with hatred. The killing impulses with protectiveness, each aspect has been dwelt very delicately by the author.
In the beginning everything that goes might appear haphazard, unconnected and unrelated but it all falls into place, giving us a great novel. One of the best police procedurals I read in a long time and I couldn't put it down until I finished it. With this book, Adam Ross has arrived.
A book to be read by all those who are married, all those who are contemplating marriage and those aren't. I say, go for it!
He hasn't been arrested," Abby said automatically. She dropped back into the chair and ran her hands over her face, blew out a long breath. "I keep telling you, they need evidence to arrest someone. He's fine. Lexie, sit down.
~Page 394
Title: The Likeness
Author: Tana French
ISBN: 978-0143115625
Publisher: Penguin/2009
Pages: 512
Detective Cassie Maddox gets a call from Detective Sam O'Neill, who is also her boyfriend, to visit a murder scene in a small town of Glenskehy. She is not very keen to go as she has opted out from the Dublin's Murder Squad. But she does go and is surprised to see the body of a girl, who is exactly her double. That is, has a ID as Alexandra Madison, the same identity Cassie had used while working undercover. No one knows who is that girl and who is the murderer.
When Frank Mackey, Cassie's former undercover boss asks Cassie to impersonate Lexie and take her place as one of the housemates in the Whitethorn House, Cassie and Sam are not very keen about the idea. But Cassie does take Lexie's place. She is pulled into Lexie's life and has to know all about her.
Now who is Lexie really? Why did she have so many identities. What ailed her? And how are the housemates involved in her murder, if they are? Cassie, while living with them, slowly gets embroiled in their lives. And her instincts of investigation comes forth.
Here we see Cassie's life changing in the company of the housemates, who are a close-knit University friends. They are as diverse as they can be yet are bonded well with each other. Cassie's interest in their lives is filled with intrigue and interest. She too can't stay detached for long. She instantly relates with them. We can feel her sadness when the time comes for her to get away from them.
Despite being a long novel, it doesn't deter us from reading it. Tana French has weaved a great story, with well etched out characters. Nowhere we hate the housemates. Even when we know all about them. This novel is supposed to start from In the Woods. I haven't read In The Woods. The Likeness has some background of that novel. However, it works well as a stand alone book too.
Also reviewed by:
"Let me get this straight," he said, deliberately speaking slowly and clearly so Clements and the rest of the Langley contingent assembled before him would understand exactly what Ulrich made of their collective mental acuity. "Ninety-two interrogation videotapes, and you're telling me they're just… missing?"
Ulrich stared at Clements, wanting to believe he'd misheard. Even in the grand panoply of CIA incompetence, this one would be a standout.
Title: Inside Out
Author: Barry Eisler
ISBN: 9780345505101
Publisher: Ballantine Books/2010
Pages: 368
In Inside Out, Ben Treven, first introduced in Fault Line, reappears. Treven has landed himself into a Manila Jail, after a Burgos Street bar brawl. The jail is so dark, crowded and unknown, that Ben finds himself in a soup with no rescue in sight. However, Colonel Scott Horton, chief of Ben's secret unit, tracks him down. He offers Ben freedom in exchange of something very big. Now Hort had tried to kill Ben and his brother, Alex in Fault Line. Ben does not whether he should trust Hort or not.
Ninety-two tape recordings documenting the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques on terrorists”/“torture on people of interest” by U.S. personnel have gone missing. And can create utter chaos if released in the public domain. The man who has them, Daniel Larison, is infact a former member of Ben's unit. He is supposedly deceased and has his reasons for going the opposite way. He has a secret life and needs money to lead that life. He is demanding $100 million in diamonds.
Treven finds himself in an unwanted partnership with an FBI agent, Paula Lanier, who is not what she appears to be. They plan how to catch hiold of Larison and recover the tapes from him. But there are people with their own interests, who can go either way to further those. Ben doesn't find Daniel to be the rogue that he is made out to be. Ben Treven also understands that he is own his own, with no support from anyone and has to find the right path to get out of it.
Title: The Rule Book
Author: Rob Kitchin
ISBN: 978-1906710576
Publisher: Pen Press/2009
Pages: 350
“His eyes fixed on the sword and started to travel its length, down from the black handle, over the plain hilt and along the two-inch wide shaft to where it penetrated the young woman´s mouth. Beneath her head the pillow and sheet were stained a mix of red and black.”
The first paragraph itself jolts the reader and is enough to keep one hooked till the end.
A young woman has been murdered and the killer has left a chapter of The Rule book in her hand bag, which pertains to rules to follow for commiting a perfect murder. Exccept for her first name, no one seems to know much about the murdered woman.
Detective Superintendent Colm McEvoy is upto his nose to find out the killer. Before he can even think how the killer's mind works, each day a murdere takes place with subsequent chapters of the Rule book found at the crime seen. All the killings seem to be random and the police force has no leads to find him. The killer calls himself "the Raven" and meticulously goes on about his planning for the next killings.
Colm McEvoy has recently lot his wife and has a 12 year oold daughter to take care of and now this. All this takes a toll on him as he forgets to have proper meals and doesn't get adequate sleep either. His superiors are none to happy and bring in Charles Deegan, another detective, who can do anything to solve the case even if means nabbing the wrong person. Colm and Charles come into logger heads and Colm is almost taken off the case.
Meanwhile, "the Raven" is happy with all the coverage he gets in the media. He is so arrogant that he knows with his fool proof rules, no one can recognise him or nab him. Yet, he breaks his own rules. Will that help the detectives to catch him? And who he really is?
The Rule Book is graphic in the sense that all the murders are committed differently and there are lots of it as he kills one a day. However, solving the crime is foremost. Although the police forces seem to bicker amongst themselves yet all of them want the killer to be caught and murders to stop. The Raven is one of those ordinary common person and that is a horrifying aspect. He could be anyone.
Rob Kitchin has created a great character in the form of Colm McEvoy, who has all the human failings and that endears him to the reader. The Rule Book is pegged as noir crime fiction and I think that suits it fine.
I had seen this book in some book blogs and requested a copy from the author. He was kind enough to send me one. I am glad he did as it isn't available in India as yet.
Title: Deadly Exchange
Author: Geoffrey M. Gluckman
ISBN-13: 9780595420469
Publisher: iUniverse/2007
Pages: 339
Jennifer Chance is a well known Motivational speaker, for Lectures and More, Inc. Unknown to her, this company is trying to push a device with such a radio frequency which can alter thinking pattern of the listeners. It is way to control minds. Ulrich Rogers, an ex-secret, is The Director pushing for it. His second in command, Jones has other plans. He wants a slice of the world and for that he is prepared to cross the line.
Something goes wrong with their plans and many deaths are reported but the govt is unable to find out the cause. Jennifer Chance has been feeling not up to her work. She thinks that it is all a lie that she is preaching. Her previous life feels like a big question mark. When she is learns about this radio frequency, she turns to Frank Revere, who too is an ex-secret agent. Frank had lost his girl-friend Sara, to an accident five years back. Although he is not keen to pursue another relationship, he and Jennifer have a strange pull for each other.
It gets murkier. Jones with his hudlums, goes on a killing spree, eliminating anyone who comes in their way. He wants the new device to be installed and work in all parts of the US. Frank, Jennifer, team up with some other ex-agents to stop it. But who should be trusted?
This novel has taken an unusual plot. It is like brainwashing the minds of the people via radio frequency devices. On the face, The Director wants it for world peace but Jones has other plans. The device is bigger than any terror activities with horrifying consequences. Killing ones own people to have control over the world is very cold blooded. There is danger, at every step. And everyone is at their wits end. I took a while to read this novel but once I started, I had to finish it.
It has the right suspense, mystery, and thriling elements to sustain interest. And also to make us think that do we really need motivational speakers to pep us up? What can another person do that our own mind can't? What is truth, anyway? Think about it.
Title: In Harm's Way
Author: Irene Hannon
ISBN: 978-0800733124
Publisher: Revell/2010
Pages: 326
When Rachel Sutton comes in contact with a Raggedy Ann doll, she has an unexplained feeling of terror. When it happens more than once, she thinks there is something, which needs to be found out. She goes to the FBI office, fully well-knowing no one is going to believe her story. Nick Bradley, a special agent of the FBI, is skeptical as expected.
But somehow the Raggedy Ann doll is connected with a kidnapped child, even though no one can understand how. Rebecca and her husband colin have given up hope of finding their child. The Raggedy Doll in a way helps the strange connection between Rachel and Rebecca, and also leads to the kidnapper. But by this time, Rachel's life is in danger, and Nick has to save her and also find the abducted toddler.
The horror of having a child kidnapped is well brought out. Rachel's seemingly unrelated to the child can feel a force/pull which leads to the kidnapper. We also winess a romance between Nick and Rachel and a bonding between Rachel and Rebecca. As a child was involved, I couldn't put down the book until I finished it. It indeed is a fast paced novel and is a winner with the reader.
Thanks to the Author for the book. And now check out her interview which follows the review:
> 1)When and why did you begin writing?
I can’t remember ever not being a writer. I really believe people are born writers. It’s a gift, just like any other talent. I did toy with the idea of becoming a psychologist, but in the end, writing won out. However, my psychology degree is a great background for writing about relationships—a key ingredient in romantic fiction!
> 2) When did you first consider yourself a writer?
When I was one of the honorees in a complete-the-story contest conducted by a national children’s magazine at the age of 10. I’ve always considered that my “professional” debut!
> 3) What inspired you to write your first book?
I’ve always loved to read. And I especially enjoyed romances, because I like books that have happy endings. So one day I decided to try my hand at writing one. That first effort was so bad I buried it in the darkest corner of my closest, where it will forever remain! But I learned a lot from that experience and kept writing until I sold my first book.
> 4) What was the hardest part of writing your book?
In Harm’s Way—and the other two books in the Heroes of Quantico series—all presented me with incredible research challenges, since they were my suspense debut. (All of my previous books were contemporary romances.) I have no connections of any kind to the military, the FBI or law enforcement in any form. So tackling these novels was more than a little intimidating. In the course of writing them, I read books, scoured the Net and consulted police officers, FBI agents, physicians, academics and a host of experts in their fields. I also enrolled in our local Citizen Police Academy, which included a heart-pounding ride-along with a patrol officer. By the time I finish a book like In Harm’s Way, I often have more than 100 single-spaced pages of research notes and reference citations.
> 5) What do you see as the influences on your writing, outside, inside, whatever?
I’ve learned a lot by simply reading excellent authors and analyzing how they use language. And I attend at least one writing conference a year, where I go to as many workshops as I can. Two things I’ve discovered: you never stop learning and you can always improve. I also had a high school literature teacher who was a tremendous influence on me. In fact, my next book will be dedicated to her!
> 6) Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
I enjoy many authors, so it’s difficult to single out one. But the author whose work inspired me to try my hand at suspense was Dee Henderson—in particular her fabulous book, The Guardian.
> 7) Can you share a little of your current work with us and how do you envisage it in future?
I’m currently working on the first book in my Guardians of Justice series. The book is called Fatal Judgment and will be out in January. It’s about a U.S. Deputy Marshal and the federal judge he’s assigned to protect when her life is threatened.
For a month I was busy judging entries in Romance Writers of America’s RITA competition (the “Oscar” of romantic fiction). Now I’m trying to catch up with my writing and finalize the new design for my website, which I hope will launch in June.
> 9) Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
I haven’t discovered any new authors recently. I’m too busy writing!
> 10) Do you have anything that you want to say to your readers?
Here in the United States, my book are shelved in the Christian fiction section of bookstores. However, the faith content is subtle and reflected more in characters’ actions than in words.. As a result, any reader who likes fiction WITHOUT explicit love scenes, gratuitous violence or profanity would enjoy my books. Also, I’m pleased to announce that In Harm’s Way has just hit a major bestseller list for the second month in a row here in the United States!
Irene Hannon Bio
RITA-award winner Irene Hannon is the author of more than 30 novels, including the bestselling Heroes of Quantico suspense series. A four-time RITA finalist (Book 2 in her Quantico series, An Eye For An Eye, is a current finalist), she has also been honored with two Reviewers’ Choice award from RT BOOKreviews magazine and a HOLT medallion. For more information, check out her website, www.irenehannon.com.
"Her wrists and ankles were comfortably but securely bound with nylon restraints. Her mouth wasn't gagged."
~Page 9
Title: Snowbound
Author: Blake Crouch
ISBN: 9780312425739
Publisher: Minotaur Books/2010
Pages: 309
Snowbound is a disturbing book. It touches certain issues which most of us want to avoid. Rather we wish not to know about those although these things are very much happening, all over the world with the nexus of the mafia and powers that are.
Snowbound does has its drawbacks. Yet it is compelling, a page turner. One has to know what is going to happen next. With totally cold blooded evil characters, the situation does get sticky but we are engrossed.
Will Innis' wife Rachel vanishes one night and he and his 11 year old daughter, Devlin, are left with only each other. The police suspect that Will has a hand in her disappearance and want him to confess the crime. Will knows that once he is arrested for the suspicion, he would be lost to hi daughter. Devlin has a terminating illness and needs his care for always. So Will and his daughter, live their home and settle down in Colorado, assuming different identities.
After five years, a woman Kalyn, finds them. She claims to be a FBI agent and tells Will that Rachel is not the only female, who has vanished. There are others, including her sister, Lucy. Kalyn asks for his help to search for those disappeared women. Will is in two minds. Whether to go around searching for his wife or stay and look after his daughter. He, along with Kalyn and Devlin, embarks on a journey to know the truth. They go right into the wilds of Alaska, to a snowbound lodge in the midst of nowhere. Here they find that they are plunged into something they have not fathomed. How can they deal with it? Would Will be able to accept what has become of his wife? And what about all the other women?
As I said before, the novel has its drawbacks. The way Devlin, goes around killing people, somehow did not gel with me. She, who hadn't handled a gun before this, does it easily enough. My doubts about Kalyn too came true. She is not what she claims to be. Yet, I couldn't put down the novel until I finished it. I also liked the way the bonding between Will and Devlin is brought out in the novel.
This novel deals with human trafficking, something which is happening all over the world. The people involved with are totally evil. And we need to made aware of such issues. To prevent it. To be able to stop it.
This book is to be released on June 22, 2010. Thanks to the author for my copy.
She was lying in the rough-hewn slab of wood that passed for a kitchen table. Her body was small, almost birdlike, her fine bones fragile, the skin so pale that Gavin could see the tracing of her veins.
~Page 368
Title: The Cold Room
Author: J T Ellison
ISBN: 9780778327141
Publisher: Mira Books/2010
Pages: 401
Taylor Jackson is a homicide detective in Nashville. She has had her share of seeing horrific crimes in her life. Yet some killer known as the conductor can still manage to shock her. He captures young women, keeps them in a glass coffin, slowly starves them to death and when they are almost dead, he gives in to his pervert attraction for the victims.
That is not all. After the murders, the bodies are re-arranged somewhat like famous painting. It is like as if he is gloating about his artwork. And he doesn't seem to be alone as similar murder victims are found in Europe too. So similar that it seems bizarre, which makes sense only in the end..
Taylor along with her fiance, FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin, sets out to find the killer(s). When another young woman is found missing, they know they are running against time. Another detective from New Scotland Yard, James Highsmythe, also known as "Memphis" joins them in their search. This detective has some sort of attraction for Taylor. The conductor has to be stopped and his partner(s), if any, has to be found.
The novel does have graphic details of the crimes committed. It might offend some who can't go for gory murders. When the truth comes out for the various murders committed in opposite parts of the world, it jolts the reader. As a crime fiction/psychological thriller, it is fast paced and finishes quickly. The various characters are well developed and we also get to see someone named the Pretender, who is kind of stalking Taylor. She is a detective worth watching out for. Crime fiction readers will like this book. Just the way I did.
Thanks to the author for my copy.
For a Salon post, I always write a review. Today is no exception.
Title: Child 44
Author: Tom Rob Smith
ISBN: 978-0446402385
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing/2008
Pages: 448
I read Child 44 during the 24-Hour-Readathon and hadn't come around reviewing it till today. Set in the Stalinist Soviet Union of the 1950s, this novel covers a lot of grounds. As a crime fiction novel, it excels despite dragging at times.
When Leo Demidov, a war veteran finds a body of a child on the tracks of a train, he knows that it is a murder. But who killed the boy? Then he finds similarities between other killings of young children. When he goes to the State, no one is prepared to listen to him. Infact the State goes into such a mode so as to deny those killings related to each other.
Leo is convinced that it is a serial killer and has to trace the numerous murders so as to get to the murderer. The State is a stumbling block but he does not let it deter him. He is helpless yet determined even though he know it may destroy his family life.
It is so horrifying that a State can deny and hide the crimes, doing nothing to catch the killer. And in a way very realistic too when I see our own power that hide facts and go to any length to prevent the truth to come out. Has anything changed?
Tom Rob Smith has done a great job and one also gets glimpses of the Soviet Union of that period. With great descriptions, my interest didn't waver at any point of time. It might be a difficult read, what with child killer roaming free, yet well worth reading. The starkness and bleakness only enhances the horror.
She shoved the taser into his crotch and fired off 50,000 volts, holding the electrodes against him for at least twenty seconds. Nieminen was transformed into a vegetable.
~Page 526
Title: The Girl Who Played With Fire
Author: Stieg Larsson
ISBN: 9781906694159
Publisher: Maclehose Press/2009
Pages: 649
"You've been lying in this bed, unresponsive, for..." he consulted a chart. "Three years, two months and five days."
"You'are shitting me."
~Page 169
Title: Lethal Experiment
Author: John Locke
ISBN: 9781440196249
Publisher: iUniverse/2009
Pages: 264
Back cover:
Donovan Creed, former CIA assassin, is a smart-aleck tough guy who can't resist a noble cause. Despite a ton of baggage and a penchant for call girls, he always finds a way to beat the bad guys. In this sequel to Lethal People, Creed is forced to choose between his thriving contract-killer business and his desire to live a normal life with the beautiful Kathleen Gray and her newly-adopted daughter, Addie. Before that can happen, he has to take care of some lethal business involving a former lover. Lethal Experiment is a breezy, fun page-turner, featuring grisly humor, outrageous characters and sexy dialogue.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Lethal Experiment" is a stand alone novel even though it is the second one of the Donovan Creed storyline.
In "Lethal Experiment", the best question asked is, "Would you take money, in this case $100 large, with the only stipulation that someone would be murdered?" It is a hard question to answer. The offer is great and the temptation is high. What would one do? Donovan Creed has the ability to surprise us all. His ways might be outrageous, but his intentions are good.
The quirky characters grow into us and we look forward to reading all the Creed novels. There are three in all and I have read all. Locke has created a memorable character in the shape of Donovan Creed.
Title: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Author: Stieg Larsson
ISBN: 978184724692
Publisher: Maclehose Press/2008
Pages: 554
I received this book from my secret Santa (Veens, I think!) in December 2009. It was in my wishlist. I got around reading it last week. Once I started, It was difficult for me to set it aside, even with work and all.
It is the first book in the Millenium triology. Stieg Larsson is not there to see his success. What does one say about a book, which is a huge success? To give it credit, it is not an over-rated book.
Three unlikely people's life gets entangled, Henrik Vangar, head of the Vangar corporation, Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist and Lisbeth Salnder, a somewhat weird security specialist. They get together to find out the missing child in the Vangar family. The girl had disappeared three decades ago with not a trace and Henrik still is pained by that fact.
When Blomkvist dwells deeper into the family secret, someone is determined that he ought not succeed. When the secrets do come out, they are so horrifying that everyone just wants to forget those. Lisbeth is brilliant computer hacker, who can't follow the society's norms. She is her own law and can go to any length to take care of herself.
It is not the mystery that is takes us in. It is Lisbeth who baffles the reader. She is an oddity yet we take to her. We might not agree with her ways but there is some kind of justification of what she does. She and Blomkvist make a great team although both don't seem to be aware of it or if they do, they do not acknowledge it. Lisbeth is not someone one can forget. She is gonna stay there for a long time. I am definitely going to check out the other two books.
"What I remembered most about Mrs. Carmodie was she had a double-decker butt. While normal butts curve like the letter C, Mrs. Carmodie’s butt got halfway through the C, then extended several inches in a straight line like some sort of shelf before finishing the curve. The shelf on her butt was wide enough to hold two cans of soda."
Title: Lethal People
Author: John Locke
ISBN: 9783440151712
Publisher: iUniverse/2009
Pages: 242
It is the first in the Donovan Creed series, who is a weird detective. He is not above duping people for money. Mostly from other crooks.
The novel opens with a fire in a house, where three people die. Only Addie, a five tear old survives. She has scars both on her body and her psyche. She is a very endearing character. Donovan creed takes to her. He is attracted to Kathleen, who too loves Addie.
Investigating the fire, Creed finds something which points out that it was an act of arson. Cred comes in contact witrh DeMeo, who is out there duping innocent people's money by killing them. And he does it such a way that no one suspects him. Creed with more weird characters gets into the bottom of it.
It is one hell of a book. Despite the grimness, it is weird and funny. Fast paced and dialogues keep us hooked. Liked the various quirky characters. They kind of make the novel plausible and adventurous.
Not bad for an afternoon read. Thanks to the author for my copy!
