Cormoran Strike is your classic private eye -- damaged (he lost a leg in Afghanistan), sleeping in his office, jilted, in debt and with few client proCormoran Strike is your classic private eye -- damaged (he lost a leg in Afghanistan), sleeping in his office, jilted, in debt and with few client prospects, but that doesn't last long. First, a lovely young temporary secretary, who has "recurring character" written all over her from page one, barrels into his office and for reasons that never become entirely clear, decides she loves the job despite Strike's precariousness and her fiance's rather well-reasoned misgivings. Suddenly, Strike is engaged for a huge fee to investigate the apparent suicide of a hard-partying supermodel, by the model's adoptive brother who is convinced that there must have been foul play. Strike launches into his investigation, and though in some ways he's like a bull in a china shop as he visits couture ateliers, mansions, and tony shops, he's also rather weirdly given the backstory of being the illegitimate son of a rock star and a "supergroupie" -- and thus apparently has some kind of glamor DNA that allows him to fit in even if he barely ever met his rock royalty relatives.
As with the Harry Potter books, this is most effective when Galbraith/Rowling is describing a detailed world and the customs and characters inhabiting it, but less strong on sound plotting and the unfolding of the denouement. Yes, I suppose all the clues were sprinkled about at regular intervals, but the way Strike reveals the solution by engaging in a pages-long monologue directed at the culprit, a physical vulnerability noted at the start to clue you in that there will, of course, be some kind of final showdown, really kills the momentum and suspense. Suspenseless, too, is the question of whether Strike's secretary, Robin, will or won't throw in her lot with the scrappy P.I.'s office.
Enjoyable enough, but not really a primo example of the detective genre....more
Better than her first and as good as her third. This one is a out Libby, the very damaged young woman who was e lone survivor of a purportedly SatanicBetter than her first and as good as her third. This one is a out Libby, the very damaged young woman who was e lone survivor of a purportedly Satanic-ritual-fueled massacre of her mother and sisters, for which her older brother, Ben, was convicted. Libby gave testimony at age 7, claiming she saw her brother commit the crime, but even she knew she only heard the slaughter. When Libby meets a club of "fans" obsessed with the murders and securing her brother's freedom, Libby starts investigating, partly out of a need to know and partly because she's broke and the club will pay her for access to key witnesses. With chapters told from the point of view of Libby, Ben, and their mother, the pieces start to fall into place until the truth is revealed.
This is pretty gripping and recalls any number of sad cases involving unhappy teenagers and, satanic panic, Gillian Flynn has a knack for evoking the squalor of a certain kind of American life in a persuasive way, but after mainlining all three of her books at once, I'm a little sick from reading her descriptions of horrible rotten smells. Most of her characters are people I would drive all day not to meet, so spending all this time in their presence isn't exactly pleasurable. Still, she's a sharp writer and her mysteries are well wrought. The clues are all there but they're not totally obvious. ...more
A gothic thriller concerning a young reporter who revisits her home town to cover the murders of two young girls. All but the final twist was telegrapA gothic thriller concerning a young reporter who revisits her home town to cover the murders of two young girls. All but the final twist was telegraphed at about page 30. The characters are so obviously sick and twisted that it's more like Flowers in the Attic than The Silence of the Lambs. ...more
Juicy thriller about a missing wife and the husband who looks guilty as hell. But things are not what they seem o any level, so many enjoyable twists Juicy thriller about a missing wife and the husband who looks guilty as hell. But things are not what they seem o any level, so many enjoyable twists and turns. ...more
Laura Lippmann is terrific, but her standalones are even more terrific. Heloise is a fascinating character, making her sordid past a source of strengtLaura Lippmann is terrific, but her standalones are even more terrific. Heloise is a fascinating character, making her sordid past a source of strength. Every moment is gripping. Must find the earlier short stories featuring this character. ...more
This is a wonderful debut mystery that mystery lovers, Japanophiles, and anyone who loves immersion in a new and interesting subculture (in this case,This is a wonderful debut mystery that mystery lovers, Japanophiles, and anyone who loves immersion in a new and interesting subculture (in this case, Goth Lolitas and suicide websites in Tokyo) will be unable to put down. ...more
I enjoyed this historical mystery, set in 1920 in New York, Paris and Vienna and populated by a mix of real and fictional characters, including SigmunI enjoyed this historical mystery, set in 1920 in New York, Paris and Vienna and populated by a mix of real and fictional characters, including Sigmund Freud and a rebellious former disciple and Marie Curie and a promising student. The action centers on the 1920 Wall Street bombing that remains unsolved today, though Rubenfeld posits a solution that resonates with post 9/11 events today. Against this backdrop is set a love story between the former Freudian and Curie's beautiful young student, a French woman who is caring for her traumatized, mute younger brother and who enlists Freud's help to uncover the mystery of his muteness to cure him. We also get to know a New York City cop who uncovers rottenness in Washington when he joins the feds, a mysteriously deformed twin, the new-money owner of a company that uses radium to decorate watches and make cosmetics, an aristocratic cab driver, and a whole variety of Great War veterans, corrupt lawmen, and denizens of war-torn Europe.
I'd have given this another star had I not been put off by the fairly ham-handed attempts to link this story to the story of 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq. We can draw our own parallels -- we don't need a red-state senator talking about how a U.S. military action will be "a cakewalk," for example. Just too on-the-nose....more
Dr. Charlie Flint is having a bad time. She refused to help wrongly convict a man who went on to kill four women and her medical license is under reviDr. Charlie Flint is having a bad time. She refused to help wrongly convict a man who went on to kill four women and her medical license is under review. She loves her wife, a dentist, but feels tempted by the attentions of a flirtatious self-help expert. When her former Oxford tutor asks her to investigate her daughter's lover, Jay, a wealthy entrepreneur the professor suspects may have had a hand in the murder of her daughter's husband as well as other business rivals, Charlie takes the case, hoping it will bring her closer to her lust interest.
The characters and their backstories are compelling, but the mystery doesn't add up to very much, relying on some fairly predictable late-breaking twists. Excerpts from Jay's second memoir, paired with her manipulative musings, are rather fun, but a little calculated. I prefer McDermid's gorier Tony Hill mysteries, with their sharp edges....more
I would have given this 2 1/2 stars if half stars were available. Good points for blending the historical Arthur Conan Doyle and his circle (includingI would have given this 2 1/2 stars if half stars were available. Good points for blending the historical Arthur Conan Doyle and his circle (including Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde) and a serial killer of his time (based on the Brides in the Bath murders) with contemporary Sherlock Holmes fanciers also in pursuit of the answer to a mystery, all laboring in the shadow of the fictional (a fact often forgotten by many) Holmes. On the downside, the characterizations are very one-note, especially with respect to the protagonist Harold, who rather unbelievably works as a speed-reader/literary expert for a Hollywood studio and is so milquetoast as to make Walter Mitty look dashing. Worse, the mysteries, such as they are, aren't terribly mysterious and turn out to matter little, and the serial killer plot has an especially disappointing resolution. I thought for sure it was heading somewhere more dramatic when cross-dressing entered the plot, but it was not to be. ...more
I'll review the entire Red Riding Quartet, since the books really compose one large narrative.
David Peace takes us into one of the bleakest worlds I'vI'll review the entire Red Riding Quartet, since the books really compose one large narrative.
David Peace takes us into one of the bleakest worlds I've encountered even in the most hard-boiled detective literature -- northern England from 1974-1983 (with some flashes back into an equally dismal late 60s) in which a child abductor and killer is running rampant, the Yorkshire Ripper is terrorizing the region, and the police force is hopelessly corrupt and in bed with some very bad businessmen. Squalid flats, cups of strong, cheap tea, abandoned warehouses, racist graffiti, and the encroachment of Thatcherism all add up to an atmosphere of inescapable despair. Throw in references to the Moors Murders, graphic, yet lyrical, depictions of mutilated bodies, last moments of terror, and horrific memories, and you have quite a depressing soup.
Peace effectively uses repetition in theme, action, and even wording to communicate the ways in which the lives of cops, victims, killers, perpetrators, and bystanders and inextricably linked, and how they are more alike one another than they'd like to believe. This also can get somewhat confusing, especially since Peace also plays with numerous characters with the same first names. The telling is somewhat elliptical, so even after reading the entire series, a reader may still have a more impressionistic than complete understanding of exactly who has done what to whom. Rather than reading as a whodunit or strict procedural, Red Riding is more appreciated as an atmospheric telling of the tale of a corrupt society and the people it chews up and spits out....more
I'll review the entire Red Riding Quartet, since the books really compose one large narrative.
David Peace takes us into one of the bleakest worlds I'vI'll review the entire Red Riding Quartet, since the books really compose one large narrative.
David Peace takes us into one of the bleakest worlds I've encountered even in the most hard-boiled detective literature -- northern England from 1974-1983 (with some flashes back into an equally dismal late 60s) in which a child abductor and killer is running rampant, the Yorkshire Ripper is terrorizing the region, and the police force is hopelessly corrupt and in bed with some very bad businessmen. Squalid flats, cups of strong, cheap tea, abandoned warehouses, racist graffiti, and the encroachment of Thatcherism all add up to an atmosphere of inescapable despair. Throw in references to the Moors Murders, graphic, yet lyrical, depictions of mutilated bodies, last moments of terror, and horrific memories, and you have quite a depressing soup.
Peace effectively uses repetition in theme, action, and even wording to communicate the ways in which the lives of cops, victims, killers, perpetrators, and bystanders and inextricably linked, and how they are more alike one another than they'd like to believe. This also can get somewhat confusing, especially since Peace also plays with numerous characters with the same first names. The telling is somewhat elliptical, so even after reading the entire series, a reader may still have a more impressionistic than complete understanding of exactly who has done what to whom. Rather than reading as a whodunit or strict procedural, Red Riding is more appreciated as an atmospheric telling of the tale of a corrupt society and the people it chews up and spits out....more
I'll review the entire Red Riding Quartet, since the books really compose one large narrative.
David Peace takes us into one of the bleakest worlds I'vI'll review the entire Red Riding Quartet, since the books really compose one large narrative.
David Peace takes us into one of the bleakest worlds I've encountered even in the most hard-boiled detective literature -- northern England from 1974-1983 (with some flashes back into an equally dismal late 60s) in which a child abductor and killer is running rampant, the Yorkshire Ripper is terrorizing the region, and the police force is hopelessly corrupt and in bed with some very bad businessmen. Squalid flats, cups of strong, cheap tea, abandoned warehouses, racist graffiti, and the encroachment of Thatcherism all add up to an atmosphere of inescapable despair. Throw in references to the Moors Murders, graphic, yet lyrical, depictions of mutilated bodies, last moments of terror, and horrific memories, and you have quite a depressing soup.
Peace effectively uses repetition in theme, action, and even wording to communicate the ways in which the lives of cops, victims, killers, perpetrators, and bystanders and inextricably linked, and how they are more alike one another than they'd like to believe. This also can get somewhat confusing, especially since Peace also plays with numerous characters with the same first names. The telling is somewhat elliptical, so even after reading the entire series, a reader may still have a more impressionistic than complete understanding of exactly who has done what to whom. Rather than reading as a whodunit or strict procedural, Red Riding is more appreciated as an atmospheric telling of the tale of a corrupt society and the people it chews up and spits out....more
I'll review the entire Red Riding Quartet, since the books really compose one large narrative.
David Peace takes us into one of the bleakest worlds I'vI'll review the entire Red Riding Quartet, since the books really compose one large narrative.
David Peace takes us into one of the bleakest worlds I've encountered even in the most hard-boiled detective literature -- northern England from 1974-1983 (with some flashes back into an equally dismal late 60s) in which a child abductor and killer is running rampant, the Yorkshire Ripper is terrorizing the region, and the police force is hopelessly corrupt and in bed with some very bad businessmen. Squalid flats, cups of strong, cheap tea, abandoned warehouses, racist graffiti, and the encroachment of Thatcherism all add up to an atmosphere of inescapable despair. Throw in references to the Moors Murders, graphic, yet lyrical, depictions of mutilated bodies, last moments of terror, and horrific memories, and you have quite a depressing soup.
Peace effectively uses repetition in theme, action, and even wording to communicate the ways in which the lives of cops, victims, killers, perpetrators, and bystanders and inextricably linked, and how they are more alike one another than they'd like to believe. This also can get somewhat confusing, especially since Peace also plays with numerous characters with the same first names. The telling is somewhat elliptical, so even after reading the entire series, a reader may still have a more impressionistic than complete understanding of exactly who has done what to whom. Rather than reading as a whodunit or strict procedural, Red Riding is more appreciated as an atmospheric telling of the tale of a corrupt society and the people it chews up and spits out....more
So far the best of French's excellent series of related mysteries. Here, Frank Mackey of the Dublin undercover police is called back to his old neighbSo far the best of French's excellent series of related mysteries. Here, Frank Mackey of the Dublin undercover police is called back to his old neighborhood, which he left thirty years earlier, intending to move to London with a forbidden girlfriend. She left without him and he never returned to his difficult family (except to keep in touch with one sister) until his missing girlfriend's suitcase turns up hidden at their old rendezvous spot, suggesting that Rosie hadn't left him voluntarily if she left him at all. Frank finds himself immersed in his old life, old mysteries, and old grudges, and the trails of violence lead back to very uncomfortable places.
Gritty, with striking characters and a well-balanced sense of plot, French leaves less ambiguous here than in In the Woods, without making it too easy. It's less of a whodunit (though that's pretty mysterious through much of the book) than a whydunit....more
This is a very good noir set in 1926 Shanghai. Richard Field is a newly arrived investigator from Yorkshire, struggling to adjust to the steam heat anThis is a very good noir set in 1926 Shanghai. Richard Field is a newly arrived investigator from Yorkshire, struggling to adjust to the steam heat and teeming corruption of his new city, while navigating the high-stakes internal politics of the international police service. When a Russian call-girl is found brutally murdered, Field meets her neighbor, another Russian emigre, and is smitten. While Natasha is beautiful and seductive, she is also dangerous -- she is part of a local gangster's coterie of beautiful women -- and may herself be in danger as the crime appears to be part of a series.
Lots of intrigue, great settings, and a wonderful sense of the time and history....more
Another delicious entry in John Burdett's Bangkok series. This time, Sonchai Jitpleecheep is facing a personal crisis -- the death of his small son anAnother delicious entry in John Burdett's Bangkok series. This time, Sonchai Jitpleecheep is facing a personal crisis -- the death of his small son and the subsequent departure of his wife for a Buddhist convent have left him bereft and searching for some blend of numbness and meaning. A particularly gruesome murder of a Hollywood director leads him to Kathmandu, where he meets an enigmatic guru, a beautiful woman who specializes in Tantric sex, and continues to pursue his role as the consiglieri to the chief of police and his less official activities. With inimitable characters and a vibrant view of Bangkok, Kathmandu, and Hong Kong, it's a transporting read....more
A charming police procedural, set in the small town of St. Denis in the Perigourd region of France. Bruno is an ex-Army officer who served in Bosnia aA charming police procedural, set in the small town of St. Denis in the Perigourd region of France. Bruno is an ex-Army officer who served in Bosnia and now is happily settled into life as the chief of police in a town where he usual duties involve solving petty crimes, protecting the local food purveyors from the humorless enforcers of EU regulations, and coaching youth tennis and rugby leagues. This bliss is interrupted when the grandfather of the local math teacher, an Algerian war hero, is found brutally murdered with a swastika carved in his chest, awakening xenophobic suspicions and prompting an investigation of local Front National agitators. Was this the work of a local band of drug-dealing skinheads and the rich teenage girl slumming with them? Or do the roots go deeper, into the war-torn past which still provokes Resistance fighters from opposing factions to refuse to speak to one another? A couple of charming innkeeping Englishwomen and a lithe inspector from Paris keep Bruno romantically busy, insightful political intrigue and plenty of scenic descriptions and delightful foodie talk set the scene. A great start to a promising series by an international political journalist....more
I very much enjoyed this first novel in the Inspector Montalbano series, a police procedural set in Sicily. The story is told without anything extraneI very much enjoyed this first novel in the Inspector Montalbano series, a police procedural set in Sicily. The story is told without anything extraneous, with a dry wit and ample cynicism regarding political corruption. Also: great descriptions of food....more
I deduct a star for the outrageously improbable climactic scene, but otherwise this, like its predecessor, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, is all youI deduct a star for the outrageously improbable climactic scene, but otherwise this, like its predecessor, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, is all you could want in a journalistic/police procedural. It's meaty, gory, detailed, and contains interesting and interestingly flawed characters, a strong sense of place, and a juicy mystery....more
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