Posts
All Comments
Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.
Her name had been out of the headlines so long that he was sure no one was searching for her when he fit the key into the lock for the last time. The door swung wide on its hinges, but he felt no need to secure it behind him. The steps groaned beneath his weight as he descended into the basement and ordered her to stand and face the wall.
Title: The Edge of Normal
Author: Carla Norton
ISBN: 9781250031044
Publisher: Minotaur Books/2013
Pages: 308
Reeve LeClaire seems like any other young women, leading a normal life. But she is a survivor. She had been captured by a abusive kidnapper when she was 12 years old and was only found because of a freak car accident. Even after her escape six years ago, she is still undergoing therapy. Her psychiatrist asks for her help with another young girl who has been rescued from an similar experience as Reeve.
Initially Reeve is reluctant but she travels to help the other girl Tilly. They bond instantly but Tilly has something to hide even now. When Tilly's kidnapper is found dead, it scares the girl even more. Reeve takes it upon herself to find out the truth. The real kidnapper too seems to know all the moves of the authorities and Reeves and always is a way ahead.
The novel has a good pace. We get to read the minds of the kidnapped and the kidnapper by the alternate perspectives of the both. Reeve overcomes her own misgivings and is hellbent on helping Tilly to get over her fears. The novel kept me on the edge and I was with Reeve, Tilly and another little girl who was rescued in the midst of all this.
What Apelu liked about walking down the road through To'aga was that nothing much ever changed. One end of the road looked pretty much like the other end, and both ends were like the middle, if you didn't pay particular attention and did not know the names and stories of each separate piece of land along the way.
Title: The Dead Don't Dance
Author: John Enright
ISBN: 978-1612185026
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer/2014
Pages: 252
Detective Apelu Soifua has come to To'aga to mourn the loss of his 11-year old daughter. He does nothing but drink and only a handful of people visit him which include, a shamanistic recluse and two marine biologists.
He thinks it is so peaceful and brings his 16 year old son to be with him. He wishes for his teenage son to learn about the roots of their heritage. Just then some surveyors arrive to spoil the landscape by building a hotel in the mystical place. His land to is one of the places landmarked for the hotel. Most of the natives are against the development and there are clashes. And a murder occurs. His son is found missing. He thinks the worst.
In the world of To'aga, tradition co-exists with tribal followings. The world of the past present comes together. And there seem to be more ghosts than people. Enright, with his lyrical writing, has made the Samoan landscape and wildlife alive for us. Some of the characters are very interesting as is Apelu.
It might seem slow but after a while I couldn't get enough of it. I got into the spirit of the place. This is one the best novels I have read so far. I am going to check out more of John Enright's Jungle Beat mysteries
Every Tuesday Diane from Bibliophile By the Sea hosts First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, where participants share the first paragraph (or a few) of a book they are reading or thinking about reading soon.
The breeze shifted as we entered the cemetery, rustling dusty orange leaves from the oaks that shaded the graves. Those already fallen skittered to life, dancing along the uneven paths and eddying into corners. It was as if the dead were whispering a greeting, or maybe even a warning, in the only way they knew how. I paused by the hedged entry and then bent to stop our dog as he dashed past. He ducked, weaved, and continued towards a large marble headstone where he immediately cocked his leg and peed in a splashy arc over Freda Usachev, Beloved Wife and Mother, Sadly Missed.
Title: Ill-Gotten Gains
Author: Ilsa Evans
ISBN: 9781743342824
Publisher: momentum books/2013
Pages: 234
Columnist Nell Forrest stumbles upon a secret in the cemetery in the town of Majic. Before she can react, two people die in quick succession. Someone does not want the secrets to come out. But Nell is determined to get to the bottom of it. And that means, the whole perspective of Majic's history would change.
While researching, Nell finds out about a long line of women dying untimely in the past 150 years of the town's existence. How are those related to the present?
With Nell's numerous daughters, a sister, a mother and an ex-husband driving her mad, this makes a good read. The suspense element is very much intact till the end and the humour element is the icing on the top.
Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.
The prison was quiet and Tom Bishop couldn’t sleep. He did one thousand
push-ups and stopped when he heard footsteps echo down the hall.
It was 12:37 AM.
‘Open, two, four, nine,’ a voice called out.
The metal locks disengaged and the door pulled open to reveal the round silhouette of a guard. Bishop recognised his shape – it was Gale. Not too bright but he didn’t pretend to be otherwise. ‘Get dressed. You’re being transferred.’
Bishop glanced around at his small four-by-eight cell. ‘I was just beginning to like it here.’
Title: Out Of Exile
Author: Luke Preston
ISBN: 9781760080495
Publisher: Momentum Books/2013
Pages: 248
When ex-cop Tom Bishop is taken out of prison in dead of night, he does not know what to expect. Then he finds out that the cops who wanted him out of prison are bad cops. They expect him to be one of them.
He finds himself in the midst of a conspiracy which is connected to his past. He also knows that that he can never be one of the corrupt cops. He is now a part of the kidnappers of the family of one of his ex colleagues and he has to save them. He puts his life in stake to do that.
What follows is an adrenaline pumping thriller which makes us sit on the edge. The fine line between good and bad cops is difficult to understand. But Luke Preston has done that very well. Action packed, violent to boot, yet there is economy of words. More of a mind play. It stays long after one finishes it.
Every Tuesday Diane from Bibliophile By the Sea hosts First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, where participants share the first paragraph (or a few) of a book they are reading or thinking about reading soon.
Eva Carradine’s foot tapped a staccato rhythm as she sat back in her chair and waited for her computer to connect. Green velvet curtains shrouded the window beside her. An umbrella lamp and gas fire combined with the light of her laptop to produce a soft hue in the room, just enough for her to view the buttons on her keyboard.
Naomi’s face appeared on the screen in front of her. No pleasantries were exchanged. No gestures made. “I can’t do this anymore.”
Eva’s stomach fisted. She stared at her friend’s crumpled face. “Naomi, don’t… We said we wouldn’t talk about this. We promised.”
Title: The Truth Will Out
Author: Jane Isaac
ISBN: 9781909878556
Publisher: Legend Press Ltd/2014
Pages: 256
Eva witnesses Naomi being attacked via skype and knows that it is her turn next. She calls the ambulance and without letting them know about identity, she runs away to safety. Eva is not aware that Naomi has been murdered. Enter DCI Helen Lavery. For her it is a difficult case to solve. There are no leads and the only witness has disappeared.
DCI Helen Lavery knows that they have to find the person, who called the ambulance, to get a breakthrough. Drug smuggling, murder and a psychopath, these make it a very engrossing novel. Helen has her own set of problems, what with two teenaged boys and a relationship on and off. Yet she comes out to be strong character, knows what she is doing professionally.
Set between the Midlands and the Scottish Highlands, The Truth Will Out is a wonderful psychological crime thriller. The combination of plot and characters are very good. A very engrossing police procedural, where blood, gore and violence is not so apparent. However, the drug thing cannot be ignored.
When a perfectly coiffed reporter perches himself inside a cell and throws a question across a flimsy wooden table, believing he already knows the entertainment value of the answer, that's not me he's trying to bait. If it were, his adrenalin would lose its battle with fear.
Title: Dead Set
Author: Will Carver
ISBN: 9780099551058
Publisher: Arrow Books/2013
Pages: 453
Book Blurb:
Gunna stamped the snow from her boots and flinched as the overpowering heat of the hotel's lobby hit her like a slap in the face. The door whispered shut behind her as she looked around, spying a man wearing a grey suit and a worried look by the reception desk. He immediately hurried over to her.
Michael spoke slowly and sternly, as if scolding an obstinate child.
“Kate, let me be very clear about this. You will not continue this murder investigation, under any circumstances. I forbid it.”
Michael’s words were unequivocal, not to be challenged. He was man. He was in charge. He expected no argument.
He was an idiot.
Title: Murder Strikes a Pose
Author: Tracy Weber
ISBN: 9780738739687
Publisher: Midnight Ink/2014
Pages: 274
Kate Davidson is a Seattle yoga instructor. She is struggling to keep her yoga business intact. She is also fending off matching efforts by her best friend. One fine day she finds a homeless man selling newspaper in from of her yoga studio. It wouldn't have been so bad but his horse-sized German shepherd Bella scares everyone away. She befriends the homeless alcoholic George, and his best friend, Bella. The three of them form some kind of camaraderie and she learns that George has more to what he appears to be.
'She's been watching us for a while now.'
'Go on, Tom.'
'Sometimes it's like she's always there, behind a pile of stones, in the shadow at the bottom of the tower, under one of the old graves. She's good at hiding.'
'She must be."
'Sometimes she gets very close, before you have any idea. You'll be thinking about something else when one of her voices jumps out at you and, for a second, she catches you out. She really makes you think it's your brother, or your mum, hiding around the corner.'
He was not going to kill her immediately. No—if there was one thing he had learned, it was to savor the moment, to be deliberate and purposeful. Like a predator in the wild, he would waste no energy. He needed to be careful, efficient, and resourceful. And above all, he needed to be patient.
They called it taking four. The tall, gaunt monk hovered at the lip of the five-hundred-foot cliff, nothing restraining him but the raw Himalayan wind. Shan Tao Yun squinted at the figure to see better. His heart clenched, It was Trinle who was going to jump---Trinle, his friend, who just that morning had whispered a blessing on Shan's feet so they would not trample insects.
Shan dropped his wheelbarrow and ran.
Title: The Skull Mantra
Author: Eliot Pattison
ISBN: 9780312204785
Publisher: St. Martin's Minotuar/1999
Pages: 403
It is one of those novels which took me into a spiritual journey. Deep into the world of Tibetan priests, Buddhist monks, Yerpas, and the psyche of the people. And politics. The resolute of the Tibetan people to be free from China. The fight that is never ending. The way they die for it without a word. Unbending.
Shan Tao Yun, a chinese investigator, has been put in one of the Chinese labour camps for a past misdemeanor. He has many Tibetan priests in his camp. When a headless body is found near the place they are working, Shan's help is sought to solve the murder. However, no one is interested to find the real killer but to put the blame on a Buddhist priest. Everyone wants Shan to endorse to that or the priests in his work brigade would be punished.
Shan finds outs about ancient Buddhist demon, an illegal monastery, sects working secretly for Tibet and people who will not bend even in the face of death. There is this American involvement too in the way of mining interests. The reader gets pulled into the religious and political maelstroms.
I highly recommend it for all those who want to learn about a religious belief, a country in another country, about people who won't give and above all, for a spiritual experience. I related to it because Dalai Lama lives in India. In Dharmshala, Himachal Pradesh. I have visited his abode although I have not seen him. And because I am a Hindu.
Wondering now, if I heard it correctly, I said," Did you say a child was murdered?"
"Yes. At the home. That's the main reason they shut down it down."
"I'm guessing the staff were suspected?"
"No, no. Not the staff, the other children. Have to go. See you tomorrow."
Title: Never Forget
Author: Lisa Cutts
ISBN: 9781908434265
Publisher: Myriad Editions/2013
Pages: 347
A woman is found brutally stabbed and DC Nina Foster is assigned the case. This is her first murder investigation. More victims are found and all these are somehow connected to Nina's own traumatic past. She had been kidnapped when she was child.
With a stalker and others who cannot be remotely connected to her kidnapping, Nina is thrown right into the nightmare. Her team want to protect her but Nina needs to get on with the investigation.
With believable characters and fast paced action, the novel is gripping. As a police procedural, it works great for the reader. Nina has her faults, what with a drinking habit but she turns out to be good detective.
He got to the bridge where his childhood friend leapt from, his body lost in the current, and went into a newsagent where he bought ten Camels and a lighter. 
Title: A Dark Redemption
Author: Stav Sherez
ISBN: 9780571244867
Publisher: Faber & Faber/2012
Pages: 384
Uganda. An unlikely place to visit. But three freshly graduated males decide to visit it. They see and learn a lot and then while driving through sparsely populated countryside, come to a fork on the road. That decision leads them into the clutches of rebel soldiers. And it becomes a life changing course for them....
Jump 20 years to 2011. Grace Okello is found murdered. She was a student at the School of African and Oriental Studies and was researching revolutionary rebel groups and insurgencies of Uganda. DI Jack Carrigan, as usual, is the first detective to arrive at a crime scene. He is horrified by the brutal way she has been murdered. Carrigan is considered a maverick by his superiors as he has unconventional ways to get to the bottom of any crime.
On the behest of assisting him, his boss brings in DS Geneva Miller. She is told to report to him. Miller is not very keen but she has no choice. In the initial investigations, Carrigan thinks it is a sex related murder as the victim was raped too, before being killed. But Miller does not buy it. She looks into the Uganda link and finds it gets murkier. She also finds that people from the Ugandan embassy are trying to stall the investigations.
Carrigan can't get over his past which involves Uganda. He had lost one of his two best friends there.
The book has three sections, the past, the present and about the murdered woman. The descriptions, at times, feel difficult to read, not because of the language but the emotions involved. The rape and murder of a young female is not an easy matter to read but before that her involvement with rebel groups for her research make the book very interesting. One learns a lot about Uganda's brutal past and those involved in it.
The ending is a total surprise. Despite the brutal descriptions, I would recommend this for all crime fiction lovers.....
"You look as if you have seen a murder, Mrs Hyde. Do sit down. I was talking to the missus about motives. That's what all detectives tell you - look for a motive. once there is a motive, things fall into place. And here, in this instance, we have one, even if...even if."
It Takes A Murder by Anu Kumar
It Takes a Murder is set in Brooks Town, a hill-station where people know all about each other. Even about those who would rather remain anonymous. The narrator, Charlotte Hyde, speaks about events which take place 25 years after 1984, where a Prime Minister is gunned down by her own guards. Charlotte has her own secrets and haunted by it.
When Gautam Dogra is found murdered, the police dismiss it as a simple case. Slowly, it unfolds that Dogra was responsible for the way the narrator's life shaped up and her estrangement with her daughter, Maddy.
It is not a love story but has a strong undercurrent of love although we do not know who loves/loved Charlotte and vice versa. The narration goes in a languid pace. The sleepy town comes alive by the writing. It is lyrical at times with the prose almost poetic. The world described here is common place yet it seems so different. A classic tale of love, loss and fury told in a very evocative way.
Dead Water by Ann Cleeves
Jimmy Perez stopped for breath and looked out to sea. A still, calm day, the light filtered through high cloud so that the water was shiny grey, like metal. On the horizon a bank of fog. In the deep pockets of the long oilskin coat that had once belonged to his grandfather were pebbles the size of eggs. They were round and smooth, and so heavy that he could feel the weight of them pulling on his shoulders. He'd collected the rocks from the beach at Ravenwick, selecting them carefully: only the roundest, the ones that were white as bone. In the distance, a little way out from the shore, there was a stack of rock shaped like a rough cross, tilted on its side. The calm water hardly broke around it.
MY REVIEW:
A journalist Jerry Markham's body is found in a boat by the marina. As Inspector Jimmy Perez is mourning the loss of his fiancee, Detective Inspector Willow Reeves is brought in to investigate the murder.
Markham had been a Shetlander and he had left the place long time ago, leaving behind a scandal which involved young Evie Watt. She is now engaged to a seaman, John Henderson, who is much older than her.
The Procurator Fiscal Rhona Laing who found the body somehow seems to be involved. Jimmy Perez is unable to keep away from the investigations. He goes to Sullom Voe, where Markham was last seen before he was killed.
The murky secrets come out in the open after another murder occurs. Somehow the conflict seems to be between those who wish to save the island and those who wish to open new industries. There are several undercurrents in the story line which keeps the reader totally involved.
Dead Water is fifth in the Jimmy Perez series but stands alone. The characters are well etched out and the suspense of the killer is wholly maintained till the end. It comes as a surprise to us. Cleeve's language flows very well. Her descriptions of the landscape is lyrical.
"You gave me a scare, Jaye. I thought you weren't going to make it, "he said.
Title: Dirty Little Secrets
Author: Liliana Hart
ISBN: 9781481158640
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing/2012
Pages: 316
J.J. Graves inherits a mortuary business and also she is the coroner for King George County, Virginia. She is none too happy with her lot. She had to leave her medical studies in the middle after both her parents died in an accident. She has no money, and no relationship and she is stuck in the small town of Bloody Mary.
When a grisly murder happens, she being the coroner, finds herself in the middle of it. Fiona Murphy, was once a close friend of hers. Detective Jack Lawson, her best friend, depends on her to find out about the murder while doing postmortem.
A hunky Crime Fiction writer, Brody Collins arrives into the town and J. J. drools over him! Soon they are involved and Jack does not like it at all. Meanwhile, another murder happens. When Jack and J. J. go around investigating they find that Bloody Mary has some dirty secrets. it seems a doctor in the nearby town is a common factor to all those who have been murdered. Dr. Hides is not what he seems.
With a nasty reporter, a hunky crime fiction writer, a serial killer and a jealous friend, Dirty Little Secrets makes an enjoyable read. Our coroner has a weird sense of humour and the steamy chemistry between her and Brody works towards our advantage! The ending was totally unexpected.
An ad in the construction section caught my eye. “Think I could handle a jackhammer?” It would be an awesome workout for my biceps. Plus, the thought of working out my frustrations on a piece of asphalt sounded enticing.
“A jackhammer would be loud. Wouldn’t that rattle your nerves?”
True. Any stress relief the jackhammer provided would probably be offset by the irritating noise.
Death, Taxes and Green Tea Ice Cream by Diane Kelly
ISBN: 9781250023087
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks/2013
Pages: 320
Justin Tan stood at the main junction of the old hutong, a neighbourhood of old courtyards dating from Imperial times, and stared down narrow alleys that disappeared quickly into darkness. It was after midnight and the steet lighting was limited in such a poor neighbourhood. The lanes were too narrow for cars so no headlightslit up the gloom.
He thought he caught sight of a shadow in the darkness and he shouted, "Is there anyone? can you call for help?" The three men started towards him with a calculated, deliberate step.
"What do you want? Why are you following me? Do you want money?"
The front man slapped the truncheon into his palm. "When the dog chases the mouse, there are always consequences. "
Title: A Calamitous Chinese Killing
Author: Shamini Flint
ISBN-13: 9780749957797
Publisher: Piatkus/2013
Pages: 320
Justin Tan is the son of a Singapore Diplomat. He is murdered in a back alley of Beijing. His murder is made to look like a robbery gone wrong. His mother asks for Inspector Singh to investigate. He travels from Singapore to Beijing and is none to happy for it.
Susan Tan wants Inspector Singh to get to the bottom of it. Her husband Anthony Tan thinks it was robbery gone wrong but her daughter Jemima knows something about her brother. He along with his professor Luo have been collecting evidence of the hutongs being destroyed for new constructions to come up.
Li Jun a retired local policeman is at the beck and call of Inspector Singh. Deputy mayor Dai Wei and the chief of police Fu Xinghua do not want the truth to come out. They try to falsify and hide the truth.
The story is told from the viewpoint of almost each and every character in the book, showing a wide range of perspectives. This help in developing the case and also reflects about modern Chinese society. With bribes, kickbacks, corruption and murder, this novel has it all. Inspector Singh is a likable character and does make the novel move forward. I found a few loopholes but I would say, go for it if you want to know about China. I learnt a lot....
Olivia Greyson could feel his eyes watching her. She knew what was going on, and she refused to be duped. Olivia concentrated on the cardboard box next to her on the sofa. The contents glowed in the soft light from the lamp on the side table. Olivia lifted one of the objects, a shiny aluminium butterfly shape, possibly the last cookie cutter her friend Clarisse Chamberlaine had purchased. A few weeks later she'd been murdered.
Title: One Dead Cookie
Author: Virginia Lowell
ISBN: 9780425260692
Publisher: Berkeley Prime Crime/2013
Pages: 293
Olivia and Maddie own a cookie shop, The Gingerbread House. Their baking is so good that all their cookies are eaten up in no time! They bake for any kind of theme parties. It is Maddie's engagement party and both are busy baking for that.
Trevor Lane, a soap opera star is found dead on the porch of The Gingerbread House. It seems he is not so popular with the people over there. He has too many enemies. When Olivia and Maddie's childhood friend Stacey's ex-husband is implicated, they know they have to find out the murderer. In the the midst of mad baking they surf the net and talk to people.
Both Oilivia and Maddie are very endearing. And so is Olivia's puppy, Spunky. OLivia tiny mother Ellie to is a memorable character. They solve the case on Maddie's engagement day.
With mad going ons and weird stuff happening, this is one good cozy mystery. It is 4th in the series of the cookie cutter mystery but is a stand alone novel. Reading it one simply wishes to keep on munching decorated cookies. I learnt a lot about cookie cutters!
