Finished November 18
All the Colours of Darkness by Peter Robinson
I can't believe it, but each book is better than the one before.
Here, a group of schoolboys discover a body hanging in the woods, and Detective Inspector Annie Cabot gets the case. The body is identified as Mark Hardcastle, set and costume designer for the local Eastvale Theatre. The situation points to suicide, but other information makes Annie wonder. When a link to higher society is found, Banks is called back from his weekend off to take on the case.
When Annie and Banks keep working on the case after being told it is cut and dried, strange things begin to happen. Someone seems to want the investigation shut down and is willing to play dirty.
The ties to the play Othello that the Eastvale Theatre was presenting are an interesting twist. The plot is gripping and you feel the frustration that Annie and Banks come up against.
Tuesday, 18 November 2008
For the Younger Crowd
Finished November 15
The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd
Ted and his older sister Kat live with their parents in London. Their dad is a demolition expert. Their aunt Gloria, sister to their mother, is stopping off in London with her son Salim, as they move from England to New York City.
Salim wants to ride the London Eye while in town, and while the kids are waiting in line they get offered a free single ticket. Salim takes it and gets on the ride, but when it comes back down he is not there. After the initial panic, the police are called in and try to figure out what happened.
Ted and Kat work together to try to solve the puzzle as well, and Ted's special way of thinking gives them insight into the mystery.
This is a great story, with an interesting puzzle to solve that also highlights autism. The family relationships are well written and Ted's personality really comes through.
Finished November 16
Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz
This is the first in a series of books centred around a group of vampires. As the young vampires go through puberty they transform from humans into their true selves. The novel centres around a group of students at Duchesne School in New York City, a private school with a student body consisting of a large number of "blue bloods" as the vampires define themselves. The main character is Schuyler Van Alen, who is being raised by her maternal grandmother. Schuyler's mother is in a coma and Schuyler visits her at the hospital regularly. As Schuyler copes with the discovery of her true vampire nature and deals with the usual teenage social issues at school, she must also figure out who is murdering young Blue Bloods. Schuyler works with her friend Oliver against the denial of the leaders of the clan over the threat to their future.
Schuyler comes across as a relatively normal teen dealing with an abnormal situation. The explanations for historic events and cultural trends are interesting, and the plot keeps things moving. Teens with an interest in the vampire genre will find another interesting author to read.
The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd
Ted and his older sister Kat live with their parents in London. Their dad is a demolition expert. Their aunt Gloria, sister to their mother, is stopping off in London with her son Salim, as they move from England to New York City.
Salim wants to ride the London Eye while in town, and while the kids are waiting in line they get offered a free single ticket. Salim takes it and gets on the ride, but when it comes back down he is not there. After the initial panic, the police are called in and try to figure out what happened.
Ted and Kat work together to try to solve the puzzle as well, and Ted's special way of thinking gives them insight into the mystery.
This is a great story, with an interesting puzzle to solve that also highlights autism. The family relationships are well written and Ted's personality really comes through.
Finished November 16
Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz
This is the first in a series of books centred around a group of vampires. As the young vampires go through puberty they transform from humans into their true selves. The novel centres around a group of students at Duchesne School in New York City, a private school with a student body consisting of a large number of "blue bloods" as the vampires define themselves. The main character is Schuyler Van Alen, who is being raised by her maternal grandmother. Schuyler's mother is in a coma and Schuyler visits her at the hospital regularly. As Schuyler copes with the discovery of her true vampire nature and deals with the usual teenage social issues at school, she must also figure out who is murdering young Blue Bloods. Schuyler works with her friend Oliver against the denial of the leaders of the clan over the threat to their future.
Schuyler comes across as a relatively normal teen dealing with an abnormal situation. The explanations for historic events and cultural trends are interesting, and the plot keeps things moving. Teens with an interest in the vampire genre will find another interesting author to read.
Saturday, 15 November 2008
Analysis
Finished November 14
How Fiction Works by James Wood
This is a nice not-too-long book about the elements of fiction. Wood covers narrative, detail, character, language, dialogue, realism and style. The information is split into short, very readable sections, and the footnotes are kept to a minimum. Wood includes a bibliography of the fiction he references, and the works about fiction that he refers to.
Wood deals not only with the elements that make up fiction, but also talks about the development of fiction over time. Some techniques are not used anymore, while others remain viable in modern fiction.
This book is very readable and offers insights to both fiction readers and fiction writers on the nature and history of this wonderful material.
How Fiction Works by James Wood
This is a nice not-too-long book about the elements of fiction. Wood covers narrative, detail, character, language, dialogue, realism and style. The information is split into short, very readable sections, and the footnotes are kept to a minimum. Wood includes a bibliography of the fiction he references, and the works about fiction that he refers to.
Wood deals not only with the elements that make up fiction, but also talks about the development of fiction over time. Some techniques are not used anymore, while others remain viable in modern fiction.
This book is very readable and offers insights to both fiction readers and fiction writers on the nature and history of this wonderful material.
Thursday, 13 November 2008
Thriller
Finished November 13
Hit and Run by Lawrence Block
An interesting main character, a likeable hit man who collects stamps. Keller is a hit man who intends to quit after this last job. He's saved enough money to live comfortably and looks forward to retirement.
In Des Moines, waiting for the go ahead for his last job, somewhere else in the city the governor of Ohio is gunned down. Back at his motel, Keller watches the story on television and finds that the killer's face is very familiar. When he calls his associate Dot, who sets up his jobs, there is no answer. He's stranded, his picture is everywhere, his ID and credit cards are no good to him, and he just spent most of his cash on stamps.
As we watch Keller, a surprisingly moral man, make his way back to his home in New York, and find more interesting goings-on there, we sympathize with him. When he continues his wanderings to New Orleans, we find him getting into even more interesting situations.
There is lots going on here, but the character of Keller is the really interesting thing in this novel.
I enjoyed it, and found it hard to put down.
Hit and Run by Lawrence Block
An interesting main character, a likeable hit man who collects stamps. Keller is a hit man who intends to quit after this last job. He's saved enough money to live comfortably and looks forward to retirement.
In Des Moines, waiting for the go ahead for his last job, somewhere else in the city the governor of Ohio is gunned down. Back at his motel, Keller watches the story on television and finds that the killer's face is very familiar. When he calls his associate Dot, who sets up his jobs, there is no answer. He's stranded, his picture is everywhere, his ID and credit cards are no good to him, and he just spent most of his cash on stamps.
As we watch Keller, a surprisingly moral man, make his way back to his home in New York, and find more interesting goings-on there, we sympathize with him. When he continues his wanderings to New Orleans, we find him getting into even more interesting situations.
There is lots going on here, but the character of Keller is the really interesting thing in this novel.
I enjoyed it, and found it hard to put down.
Wednesday, 12 November 2008
Murder Mystery
Finished November 12
Too Close to Home by Linwood Barclay
Just as entertaining as I expected, this fast-paced mystery kept me reading.
Set in a small town in upstate New York, this mystery begins with a family, the Langleys, shot to death in their own home. Nearby neighbors Jim and Ellen Cutter and their son Derek become more involved in the crime than they expected at first. Derek was friends with Adam Langley and it turns out he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Past indiscretions are dredged up in the search for the truth about the murders, and Jim isn't sure who he should trust.
From the corrupt mayor to the conniving college president, there are plenty of interesting characters.
Too Close to Home by Linwood Barclay
Just as entertaining as I expected, this fast-paced mystery kept me reading.
Set in a small town in upstate New York, this mystery begins with a family, the Langleys, shot to death in their own home. Nearby neighbors Jim and Ellen Cutter and their son Derek become more involved in the crime than they expected at first. Derek was friends with Adam Langley and it turns out he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Past indiscretions are dredged up in the search for the truth about the murders, and Jim isn't sure who he should trust.
From the corrupt mayor to the conniving college president, there are plenty of interesting characters.
Tuesday, 11 November 2008
Quirky Novel
Finished November 10
The Footstop Café by Paulette Crosse
This is a quirky novel set around a dysfunctional family who lives near Lynn Canyon in the suburbs of Vancouver. Morris is a podiatrist with a foot fetish. His wife Karen runs the Footstop Café out of their home, with a multitude of foot-related items for sale. Their sixteen-year-old daughter Candice thinks she's a lesbian, but is afraid to come out of the closet. Their young son Andy has recently changed schools after setting off a home-built bomb in his previous school. Andy wears thick glasses and is prone to being picked on.
Entering their lives come Moey, a kick-boxing instructor with a dream of being a belly-dancer; Egret, a Olympic diving hopeful with a thing for Candice; and Karen's parents, an Anglican minister and his Tibetan wife.
As the family is forced to confront the reality of their lives, the absurd comes to the fore and the story gets very strange.
The author publishes fantasy fiction under her real name, Janine Cross.
The Footstop Café by Paulette Crosse
This is a quirky novel set around a dysfunctional family who lives near Lynn Canyon in the suburbs of Vancouver. Morris is a podiatrist with a foot fetish. His wife Karen runs the Footstop Café out of their home, with a multitude of foot-related items for sale. Their sixteen-year-old daughter Candice thinks she's a lesbian, but is afraid to come out of the closet. Their young son Andy has recently changed schools after setting off a home-built bomb in his previous school. Andy wears thick glasses and is prone to being picked on.
Entering their lives come Moey, a kick-boxing instructor with a dream of being a belly-dancer; Egret, a Olympic diving hopeful with a thing for Candice; and Karen's parents, an Anglican minister and his Tibetan wife.
As the family is forced to confront the reality of their lives, the absurd comes to the fore and the story gets very strange.
The author publishes fantasy fiction under her real name, Janine Cross.
Monday, 10 November 2008
Slow Mystery
Finished November 8
The Private Patient by P.D. James
This is a very slow-moving book and at times I wished things would just move along a bit faster. It is however, a well-written book, and that makes it good.
The characters are what makes the book, from the investigative journalist Rhoda Gradwyn, a woman who books surgery to get a scar removed, to the staff at the private hospital where she gets the work done. You know from the start that Rhoda will die, but not the circumstances of the death. The buildup to the murder is extensive and we get to know the various staff at Cheverall Manor, from the cook and his wife to the doctor himself.
As the characters make themselves known you begin to see the underlying resentments and motivations, but until the murder is done, you don't get to see it all. I do wish the book had moved a bit more quickly, but I enjoyed the story despite that.
The Private Patient by P.D. James
This is a very slow-moving book and at times I wished things would just move along a bit faster. It is however, a well-written book, and that makes it good.
The characters are what makes the book, from the investigative journalist Rhoda Gradwyn, a woman who books surgery to get a scar removed, to the staff at the private hospital where she gets the work done. You know from the start that Rhoda will die, but not the circumstances of the death. The buildup to the murder is extensive and we get to know the various staff at Cheverall Manor, from the cook and his wife to the doctor himself.
As the characters make themselves known you begin to see the underlying resentments and motivations, but until the murder is done, you don't get to see it all. I do wish the book had moved a bit more quickly, but I enjoyed the story despite that.
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