The Priest

Like I said, yesterday was hard work.  So I decided to take the afternoon off doing uni work and just enjoy myself reading fiction instead.  Sometimes, you just need some fun books :)  Not that Bede isn't really interesting, but some of the books about Bede...

So, The Priest is a fairly standard crime thriller, with a freaky serial killer, excitable Spanish diplomats, and a cop with family trouble/girlfriend trouble (she's a journalist).  It's also well-written and gripping, so maybe not too standard.  Not entirely sure what else to say.  Sorry.  Feeling a bit tired, think I might go read some more fiction...  Well, it's that or continue making notes on Eddius Stephanus' 'Life of Bishop Wilfrid', which is interesting, but I think I'd rather read fantasy or something a bit less demanding of brain power.

I could put this to post tomorrow.  But then it won't make sense of the yesterday comment...  Maybe though, I will start doing the 'Schedule' thing.  That would be cool, right?  And maybe demonstrate that I am technically competent and can do exciting things, rather than just write four book reviews at once (okay, not quite four today, but sometimes...) and then abandon the blog for a week.  I could even start using pictures.  But I don't see how a blog that's primarily about reviewing books actually needs pictures.  The book cover, maybe?  Then I could use one of the new blogger view options, and people could scroll by book cover.  That might be interesting, but it'd take forever for me to add the pictures to all previous posts...

At the end of that ramble, let me sum up.  The Priest is a pretty good book, with a rather sinister serial killer and a rather interesting detective tracking him down.  Since I've come to the conclusion crime in particular stands or falls based on the characters, this one ones a pretty good job of 'standing'.  You do feel a little terrified when...  But you can read it and find out about that bit :)

The Good Thief's Guide to Paris

Okay, so I picked this up at the library the other day because it looked interesting.  I nearly gave up part way through (it didn't have quite as much action as I was hoping for) but didn't because the library was closed and I hadn't really anything else to read.

It's quite a fun idea.  Also somewhat complicated.  The main character is talking in first person and is a thief who writes books 'pretending' to be a thief.  There might be another layer of pretending to be a thief in there, somewhere, but I'm pretty sure I got them all.  Just to make life a little more unusual, said thief (as in, the main character of the actual book, rather than the main character occaisionally mentioned in the book within the book) has early-onset arthritis.

The main character is pretty fun, as are the various characters in the somewhat eccentric bookshop.  The plot is pretty good too.  I think it was more of a personal taste issue--I suspect I would've rather read the book within the book with implausible action scenes and so on--but I did find it a little slow-going in parts.

In conclusion: an interesting idea, a fairly good book.  I'll probably read the others, if I spot them (especially as I seem to be having one of my periodic running out of interesting things to read issues), but it's not competing to go on my list of favourites.

The Bride Collector

Okay, seriously, why has nobody told me about this author before?  This book was AMAZING.  Literally couldn't put it down, and hence am a weeny bit tired this morning (thankfully, I started it just before 8 and it wasn't too long, or I'd still be reading it now...)  Talk about a brilliant crime novel, which completely underlines the fact to me that a crime novel stands or falls on its characters.  Not necessarily the main characters who're chasing the 'bad guys' either, but the assorted victims, relatives and so on.  That's what makes a truly great crime novel.  And this one had interesting characters in abundance, particularly the cast from the Centre for Well Being and Intelligence, but I have to say I also loved the main character, special agent Brad Raines.

To be quite frank, I don't want to tell you what happens.  Just that you'll adore Roudi (a wanna be Sherlock Holmes), Paradise (just an incredibly human, incredibly moving character), Cass (short for Cassanova, need I say more?) and Andrea.

Who's sane?  Who's insane?  And where do you draw the line?

Fascinating, gripping, it takes you right into the heart of mental health issues and their treatment.  Plus there's a serial killer to catch.  As an added bonus, I don't think there's any bad language (not noticeable at any rate), and the author doesn't have this strange belief that just because it's a thriller there have to be male and female characters leaping into bed with each other!

I can't recommend this book enough, and I can't wait to get hold of any other books by Ted Dekker.

61 Hours

So, it's one of the more recent Jack Reacher books, the second most recent I think.  I had a bit of a phase of reading loads of these all in one go, gave up for a while, and when I saw this in the library figured I should read it.

It's a pleasant enough way of spending an afternoon.  I read it all in one go, which perhaps argues for it being a good book.  Although I've recently realised that a better mark is being forced to stop and then launching yourself straight back at the book as soon as you've done whatever interrupted you.

I found the constant references to how many hours there were left somewhat irritating.  A good way of keeping a sense of chronology perhaps, but not necessary.  Especially as I couldn't tell you with any degree of certainty what the countdown was actually to.  Was it the lady being attacked or the escape or when the lady was meant to be attacked or what?

The ending was a little bit like the one at the end of Six Sacred Stones, in that it's vaguely cliff-hangerry.  You know he survives, because there's another book.  It's just a case of working out how (I'm proud to say I was almost right with Six Ancient Stones).  But that was good because it was guessable.  I'm not seeing any way out based on the text so far, which would mean there's probably some loophole which enables Reacher to escape.  Of course, I might just be being ignorant, in which case I'll hold up my hands and say okay, that works.  Which I guess means I have to read the next one.

One thing I will say is that it doesn't particularly matter if this is the first one you start with.  I presume there's a gradual chronological moving forward, but as Reacher just sort of drifts across America with no personal belongings and as each of the incidents described occur in a different place across America with little tying them together, it doesn't really matter.  The only constant figure is Reacher, who according to one of those little sloganny bits you get on books all women are meant to fancy.  I'm not quite convinced, but there you are.  He's a great character in many ways, and it basically means the author gets to create loads of new characters for every book, which can be as fun as it can be hard work.  (Personally, I find surnames hardest.  They usually all need to be different, and while you can nab character traits and forenames of real people you know, surnames are a little more personal...). 

At any rate, it's a decent enough book, albeit nothing spectacular.  If you like crime with a slightly unusual main character, this is a series you'll undoubtedly enjoy.  Although at times Reacher comes across a bit Sherlock Holmesy, if you know what I mean :)

A Great Deliverance

This is the first book in the Inspector Lynley series.  I got into the series after discovering that the TV series which mum and I had been watching on DVD was actually based on a book.  After a few that were great, and one that really wasn't great, I gave up on the series for a while, but I've returned to reading the ones they have in my current local library (I was starting to run out of ideas...).  And actually, this first one is brilliant.

The conflict between Havers and Lynley is well, and sympathetically, set out.  It also opens out a lot of the personal relationships that are mentioned briefly in later books, which helped explain a lot.  And the case itself is fascinating--and frightening in many respects.

The atmosphere is great, and I love the two main characters (especially Barbara Havers, she's fantastic :) ).  I thoroughly recommend this to any crime lovers.  A great novel, and it sheds a whole new light on the later books.

I, Alex Cross

Well, I'm perhaps not in the best position to judge this book as I didn't actually read all of it. In fact, I got to about chapter 12 (which if you've ever read a James Patterson book, means I really didn't get that far) before I gave up on it and decided that I could find better things to read. I used to be a huge James Patterson fan, but his writing's getting worse. Or maybe that's just me.

I didn't enjoy the previous Alex Cross book at all. I made it all the way through, but had serious reservations about the way the 'natives' had been treated--you rather get the impression the author has never been to Africa. Which made the whole plot fall rather flat, and to be perfectly honest, the plot itself appeared to have been contrived primarily to send Alex Cross to Africa--presumably so the author could explore 'deep issues' (like he did with Maximum Ride four which utterly ruined the book).

This one had a somewhat interesting start. Woman running away, shot in the back. Staggers to a road, gets picked up after being nearly run over. It was the man from the White House. Which man? The President? Why? Well, when it turns out that this woman who was killed is a) Alex Cross' niece (who incidentally, was somewhat estranged and he hasn't seen her for 20 odd years... so let's face it may as well be anyone) and b) a prostitute. And that latter fact was what decided me that I didn't want to keep reading. Don't get me wrong, I don't have an issue with reading books which touch on the darker side of life. I've just thoroughly enjoyed one in Ex-Kop. But James Patterson has a thing for writing... Well, I'll call it dodgy stuff, and leave it at that. As for the scandal, well, I was left thinking, so what? Killer above the law; read it quite a few times now.

So to be quite honest, the new Alex Cross book didn't interest me at all. I picked it up from the library because some of them have been very good, but when it all seemed a bit dull, contrived, and not really all that well-written, I gave up and it's going back to the library tomorrow. I've still not read the most recent Maximum Ride book either. To be fair, Max was reasonable, even if not up to the standards of the first three. I've just lost interest in James Patterson's writing because so much of it has been utter rubbish recently. Especially the Women's Murder Club, which was a series I thoroughly enjoyed.

A Traitor to Memory

Disappointing. I didn't finish it, I couldn't be bothered to plow through and was quite annoyed that I'd wasted so much time to get half way through when it became clear that the plot was being stretched way beyond reasonable limits. I admit, I don't often read crime books any more, but on the basis of the other Elizabeth George books I've read, and the Inspector Lynley TV series, I figured this was worth a go. Especially because my mum reckoned the TV episode that followed the plot of this book was one of the best.

To be quite honest, the plot could have been quite fantastic. In fact, much of the book was fantastic. The problem was with the fact that the book had been seriously bulked out by the inclusion of the ramblings of a prodigy violinist who had lost his memory and possibly had something to do with the violent hit and run that killed his mother--a mother he had not seen since he went on tour aged 8 with his father and returned to find the house wiped clean of both her presence and that of his murdered little sister. Fair enough to include some from the perspective of the possible killer, but really, over half the chapters filled with his ramblings? It just got tedious and boring, and detracted from what could have been a fantastic plot, and quite an original and intriguing one too. Instead, the book dragged. It was almost as though Elizabeth George had two ideas and decided to just combine them into one book, but ended up giving neither the attention or interest value they deserved.

In short, a disappointing book that I couldn't bring myself to finish. Perhaps if you were to skip out all the chapters dealing with the whinings of a musically talented brat it might be a good read.

This Body of Death

Another gripping novel from Elizabeth George. An out of town cop has been brought in to head Inspector Lynley's old group, but struggles to make headway, particularly with Havers. Scruffy, unconventional, determined to go off her own way, Havers is everything Isabelle Ardery isn't. And Ardery is determined to change her. This novel weaves skilfully between a fascinating murder case and a rather amusing shopping trip, bringing out the characters fantastically. Even if you're not much of a crime lover, this book is well worth the read for the sheer brilliance of the characters, and a plot that will send shivers down your spine. Addressing the issues posed by young murderers along with creating a brilliant atmosphere and drawing you in to the story, I highly recommend 'This Body of Death'. A gripping must read.

With No One as Witness

My mum and I watched the third season of Inspector Lynley together recently. We really enjoyed it, and when we took it back to the library, the librarian told us that the books were much better. "Books!" we both cried, "we didn't know there were books...". And so, I found 'With No One as Witness' by Elizabeth George, and was utterly captivated. The characters are brilliant, I especially love Havers. The detective work is described grippingly, the case is fascinating. A serial killer on the loose in London. Where are his victims being chosen? And why did the Met not notice there was a serial killer until the fourth body was found? Amidst charges of institutionalised racism, Lynley, Nkata (promoted in what everyone knows was a politically inspired move--but everyone also agrees he deserved the promotion), and Havers have to find the serial killer, before the reputation of New Scotland Yard is permanently damaged. (Why is it Scotland Yard by the way? Does anyone know where the name came from?). Fascinating, with characters that actually feel real, and a tragedy that leaves you reading breathlessly on. A read until half two in the morning sort of book, utterly unputdownable and highly recommended.