Author Susan Hill throws numerous characters at you right from the start in "The Various Haunts of Men" and it takes some time for the reader to sort them out in your mind. In addition, there is 'The Tape', which is full of confessions that don't seem to be related to the story at all.
As you settle in to the book you discover that a woman has gone missing. DS Freya Graffham, new to the local police force, is given the task of locating her. Shortly thereafter a young woman, whom we readers have met earlier, also goes missing. Is her disappearance related to her having gone to one of the 'complementary healers'? Or is it tied to the other missing woman?
As DS Graffham settles in to her new community she meets many of the characters we had been introduced to earlier including DCI Simon Serrailler and his sister Dr. Deerbon. Both have minor roles to play in the story as it enfolds.
As DS Graffham proceeds with her investigation, ably helped by DC Nathan Coates, the reader gets to discover the personality of the many characters in the story. It isn't until well toward the end of the story that we discover the cause of the disappearance of the women. The climax of the story is a complete surprise to the reader. I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading the next one by author Susan Hill.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
A Rich Full Life
"The English are dying too much." is an observation made by the Florence chief of police.
The narrator of this story is an ex-pat American living in Florence. He writes letters home to a friend describing the situation in 1855 Florence. Robert Booth tells of the first victim, a young woman both men had known in Boston. At the murder scene he meets Robert Browning, the famous poet. Together they launch their own investigation because they think that the police of Florence are incompetent.
Unfortunately, their amateur investigation seems to become undone when each suspect is killed in their turn.
I found that author Michael Dibdin's story was very wordy. This might be because he was trying to write in the Victorian style. I also must admit, that this was not a book I enjoyed to any great extend.
The narrator of this story is an ex-pat American living in Florence. He writes letters home to a friend describing the situation in 1855 Florence. Robert Booth tells of the first victim, a young woman both men had known in Boston. At the murder scene he meets Robert Browning, the famous poet. Together they launch their own investigation because they think that the police of Florence are incompetent.
Unfortunately, their amateur investigation seems to become undone when each suspect is killed in their turn.
I found that author Michael Dibdin's story was very wordy. This might be because he was trying to write in the Victorian style. I also must admit, that this was not a book I enjoyed to any great extend.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
The Road to Jerusalem
"The Road to Jerusalem" is the first book in a trilogy by author Jan Guillou.
Arn Magnusson is a typical five year old. He scampers about after his older brother, but one day that would lead to a bit of bravado and a fall. A fall that knocked the life out of him. His mother and father prayed to St. Bernard that if Arn's life would be spared he would be given up to the work of God. His life was spared and as a result Arn was sent to an abbey.
There he learned the words of God and the joys of learning. He also learned how to forge horseshoes and look after an abatoir, prepare foods and ensure that the place stayed healthy. His learning also included sword play and the accurate use of a bow and arrow.
By his mid-teens he was sent back into the base world. He was very naive of the ways of those who didn't live the holy life, but he soon learned them. He became involved in fights that would lead to the possible crowning of a new king. He also learned that women existed to be loved by men.
Unfortunately these new things that he learned were regarded as sins by the church and that in turn would create troubles for him with the church. At that point the author leaves us hanging in anticipation of the next book in this trilogy, and I am looking forward to reading it.
Arn Magnusson is a typical five year old. He scampers about after his older brother, but one day that would lead to a bit of bravado and a fall. A fall that knocked the life out of him. His mother and father prayed to St. Bernard that if Arn's life would be spared he would be given up to the work of God. His life was spared and as a result Arn was sent to an abbey.
There he learned the words of God and the joys of learning. He also learned how to forge horseshoes and look after an abatoir, prepare foods and ensure that the place stayed healthy. His learning also included sword play and the accurate use of a bow and arrow.
By his mid-teens he was sent back into the base world. He was very naive of the ways of those who didn't live the holy life, but he soon learned them. He became involved in fights that would lead to the possible crowning of a new king. He also learned that women existed to be loved by men.
Unfortunately these new things that he learned were regarded as sins by the church and that in turn would create troubles for him with the church. At that point the author leaves us hanging in anticipation of the next book in this trilogy, and I am looking forward to reading it.
Friday, February 24, 2012
The Keeper of Lost Causes
When I looked at the chapter listing of this thriller I wondered about the chapter titles; why were the ones at the beginning alternatively listed 2002, 2007?
The book starts out describing a woman being held in a prison and the reader grasps something of what is to come. Then the author, Jussi Adler-Olsen introduces a detective - Carl Morck who has been involved in a shooting incident where one of his partners was killed and another paralysed. Morck, himself was wounded in the temple and likely saved from death when one of his partners crashed on top of him. He is now returned to duty, but not back to the homicide squad. He is given Department Q, which is to look into cold cases. He is not given any help other than a janitor cum servant, Hafez el-Assad.
The next chapter takes us back to 2002 and we meet Merete Lynnegard, an up and coming member of Parliament. She has a younger brother who she is taking care of. Uffe and their family were involved in a car accident several years earlier in which their parents were killed and Uffe suffered a serious brain injury.
Adler-Olsen then begins to tie the two stories together. Merete has gone missing having disappeared from a ferry while taking her brother on a holiday to Berlin in 2002. This case is one of the cases that appears amongst the files of Department Q. Carl and Hafez begin to research it together, slowly finding clues that had been missed in the earlier investigations.
If you enjoyed "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" series, then you undoubtedly will enjoy "The Keeper of Lost Causes". This was a book I was unable to put down!
The book starts out describing a woman being held in a prison and the reader grasps something of what is to come. Then the author, Jussi Adler-Olsen introduces a detective - Carl Morck who has been involved in a shooting incident where one of his partners was killed and another paralysed. Morck, himself was wounded in the temple and likely saved from death when one of his partners crashed on top of him. He is now returned to duty, but not back to the homicide squad. He is given Department Q, which is to look into cold cases. He is not given any help other than a janitor cum servant, Hafez el-Assad.
The next chapter takes us back to 2002 and we meet Merete Lynnegard, an up and coming member of Parliament. She has a younger brother who she is taking care of. Uffe and their family were involved in a car accident several years earlier in which their parents were killed and Uffe suffered a serious brain injury.
Adler-Olsen then begins to tie the two stories together. Merete has gone missing having disappeared from a ferry while taking her brother on a holiday to Berlin in 2002. This case is one of the cases that appears amongst the files of Department Q. Carl and Hafez begin to research it together, slowly finding clues that had been missed in the earlier investigations.
If you enjoyed "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" series, then you undoubtedly will enjoy "The Keeper of Lost Causes". This was a book I was unable to put down!
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
A Bitter Truth
Bess Crawford has just come home from France on leave. It is a rainy, cold evening in London as she returns to her flat. Just outside her residence she bumps into a young woman who is shivering from the cold. She invites the young woman, Lydia, into her home to get warm. This chance meeting will set in motion the latest thriller that Bess is to become involved in.
Lydia has been struck across the face by her husband and she has run away to London. She reluctantly decides to return home, but only if Bess will accompany her. When the two arrive at Lydia's home they discover that a dinner is going to be held in memory of Lydia's brother-in-law who died as a result of wounds on the Western Front. That evening one of the men, in a bit of a drunken stupor, questions Lydia's husband about a possible love child in France. That man is to die shortly thereafter, murdered; by someone at the house?
Bess returns to her work in France having been asked by Lydia to search for the love child. Little does she know that she will soon be back in England furthering the inquiry into the death of another man whose death might be related to the first.
Author Charles Todd twists the plot every which way before all is revealed near the end of the book. A good read, quite enjoyable.
Lydia has been struck across the face by her husband and she has run away to London. She reluctantly decides to return home, but only if Bess will accompany her. When the two arrive at Lydia's home they discover that a dinner is going to be held in memory of Lydia's brother-in-law who died as a result of wounds on the Western Front. That evening one of the men, in a bit of a drunken stupor, questions Lydia's husband about a possible love child in France. That man is to die shortly thereafter, murdered; by someone at the house?
Bess returns to her work in France having been asked by Lydia to search for the love child. Little does she know that she will soon be back in England furthering the inquiry into the death of another man whose death might be related to the first.
Author Charles Todd twists the plot every which way before all is revealed near the end of the book. A good read, quite enjoyable.
Monday, February 20, 2012
The Last Kashmiri Rose
Commander Joe Sandilands has been sent to India to talk to the police there. He hates the heat and is hoping to get back to England as soon as possible. Unfortunately his trip home is delayed when the governor of Bengal province asks for his assistance. The governor's niece is the one who has specially requested his help. Her friend has been found brutally murdered in her bath, but it has been made to look like a suicide; her wrists have been slashed.
When Sandilands gets to Panikhat he discovers that four other women have died in suspicious circumstances. Each of their deaths occurred in March. As Sandilands investigates further he is able to piece together evidence that points to the possibility that each of their deaths is not an accident. Could they possibly be tied together?
Author Barbara Cleverly manages to keep the reader quite involved throughout this thriller.
When Sandilands gets to Panikhat he discovers that four other women have died in suspicious circumstances. Each of their deaths occurred in March. As Sandilands investigates further he is able to piece together evidence that points to the possibility that each of their deaths is not an accident. Could they possibly be tied together?
Author Barbara Cleverly manages to keep the reader quite involved throughout this thriller.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
The Singhing Detective
Jaswinder Singh had grown up in a Sikh family on the east side of London. His family had been welcomed into the area, and his parents were great friends with a woman across the street. Although his mother and the other lady had difficulties understanding each other due to their particular accents, they got on well. Jazz was always welcome in the lady's home as a lad. He became a Detective Sergeant with The Met.
Unfortunately an incident early on in his career led to a breakdown. Once he was recovered he spent five years in Manchester. Now he has been requested back in the Met; back to Ilford Police Station where he had operated out of before. Unfortunately for Jazz, memories amongst some of his former colleagues were not good ones, so he was assigned his own team; a team of two rookies.
A few days after his return his mother's friend is found dead in her home. When Jazz goes to investigate he discovers that her death is not due to old age, but is in fact a murder and that the murder occurred not in her own home, but next door, which turns out was a cannabis factory. For Jazz, the investigation is personal now. Jazz and his two rookie Detective Constables set in motion a gang war without realising it. It will have more ramifications than Jazz could ever expect.
Author M. C. Dutton has done an excellent job in keeping the reader guessing right up to the last pages of the book. An excellent read.
Unfortunately an incident early on in his career led to a breakdown. Once he was recovered he spent five years in Manchester. Now he has been requested back in the Met; back to Ilford Police Station where he had operated out of before. Unfortunately for Jazz, memories amongst some of his former colleagues were not good ones, so he was assigned his own team; a team of two rookies.
A few days after his return his mother's friend is found dead in her home. When Jazz goes to investigate he discovers that her death is not due to old age, but is in fact a murder and that the murder occurred not in her own home, but next door, which turns out was a cannabis factory. For Jazz, the investigation is personal now. Jazz and his two rookie Detective Constables set in motion a gang war without realising it. It will have more ramifications than Jazz could ever expect.
Author M. C. Dutton has done an excellent job in keeping the reader guessing right up to the last pages of the book. An excellent read.
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