Crime – Page 8 – My Good Reads

‘The Trouble With Goats and Sheep’ – Joanna Cannon

Throughout this novel there are references to religion and how beliefs can shape our behaviour. The central idea of people being divided into goats and sheep, and the idea that anyone is in a position to decide who is who, was fascinating. Hearing some of the characters espouse their theories reveals much about them, and encourages us to consider our own response to the events and characters described.

‘The Trouble With Goats and Sheep’ is a debut novel that is set in the summer of 1976. Ten year olds Grace and Tilly are curious about the world around them, and their curiosity is piqued when one of the neighbours goes missing. They are determined to be the ones to solve the mystery of what happened to Mrs Creasy, and so begins one of the best books I’ve read in a while.

This is not a book where much actually happens. We follow Grace on her investigation, and I loved her innocence as she observes the events happening around her. Seen through this child’s eyes, some of the absurdities of adult life are all too clearly highlighted.

Focusing on a fairly small cast of characters who live on The Avenue, Cannon slowly reveals all manner of hidden secrets. Cleverly interspersing past information with Grace’s investigations we slowly piece together some of the events that are alluded to throughout the novel, which all appear to play their part in the disappearance of Mrs Creasy.

Learning the hidden details of these characters’ lives was unsettling on more than one occasion. The Boo Radley of the novel – Walter Bishop – is a character that I felt deeply about. Though the setting is unashamedly of its time, the questions we are forced to ask about ourselves and our behaviour remain relevant for all time.

‘Hold Still’ – Tim Adler

I received a digital copy of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The first thing I have to make clear is that this novel is very different in subject matter from the kind of stuff I’d normally read. This might explain some of my issues with the novel.

An excellent beginning. We see Kate and her husband in their hotel room in Albania, where they have travelled for a relative’s funeral, and within minutes he is dead – having fallen off the balcony. The easiest explanation for this is that Paul was depressed because of his failing business, and this is nothing more than a suicide. Unfortunately, Kate is convinced she saw someone else on the balcony at the time and that someone was watching them. She also is curious about the message Paul received just beforehand where he is pictured in a hotel with a younger woman. So begins her quest to find out what really happened.

Before we know it, Kate is drawn into the seedy underbelly of life. She learns things about her husband’s involvement in things that she would probably rather not have known about: drugs, bribery, corruption, human trafficking and Albanian gangs.

Though the story was well-plotted and kept you interested, I spent most of the book feeling quite detached from events. Kate simply wasn’t a character that I cared that much about, so I didn’t quite feel the emotional investment in her situation that I think was needed for this book to be totally successful.

‘The Way I Used to Be’ – Amber Smith

The image on the cover of this novel perfectly sums up the experience of the main character, Eden. It also captures perfectly one of the only moments in the novel – though she doesn’t see this until much later – when she is happy.

I think the first thing to say is that this is a book that will divide opinion. The subject matter is not going to appeal to everyone, but for me this is one of those books that you really have to make yourself read.

While some reviewers have commented on the fact that this doesn’t add anything new to books about rape, I’d argue that it shouldn’t have to. Every survivor of rape will have a different story to tell; every survivor of rape will react differently and the outcome for each will be very different. Why should a writer feel compelled to add something new to the mix?

Putting that view aside, I think the structuring of this novel is what most intrigued me about the book. We start with the night of the rape, and there is no easing us in gently to the horror. Like Eden, we are abruptly forced into a position from which we cannot escape. I was appalled, yet horribly resigned, to the way in which she reacted in the immediate aftermath of her attack. It revealed a lot about her as a character, and the relationships that she had with her family and her attacker.

As I read the opening section which focuses on Eden at 14, I felt so angry on her behalf. I reacted very emotionally to this character, wanting her to have that all-important person to reach out to who would believe her when she told them what had happened. Unfortunately, Eden keeps quiet…and nobody seems to notice quite enough to go beyond the surface attempt to convince everyone she’s okay.

The novel is split into four distinct parts, each focusing on a different year in school. As time progresses, we see Eden more and more damaged by her experience. She finds her coping mechanism. Unfortunately, this also brings with it further problems, as she gains a reputation for being a slut amongst her peers. For this portrayal of high school alone I think the novel is worth reading.

The novel’s strength – taking us through Eden’s reaction over a prolonged period of time – is also its weakness. There are many events glossed over or ignored, but I found this a fairly minor issue.

All in all, I had a very emotional reaction to this novel. It didn’t have quite the ‘killer touch’ of Louise O’Neill’s ‘Asking For It’ but it packs a pretty hefty punch that will certainly get people talking.

‘Knightley & Son: K-9’ – Ronan Gavin

As with the first book in the series, this is the kind of book that I think you’ll appreciate if you’re at least familiar with the original Holmes stories.

I enjoyed this, but not as much as the first book. For me, it was difficult to ignore the fact that Darkus and his father are not really working together in this novel. It felt like there were a number of characters running around doing their own thing who would, occasionally, meet up and share what they’d been doing.

I didn’t particularly like the subject, which I think was my key issue with the novel, and there were one or two coincidences too many for my taste.

On the positive side, you got to see a little more of Tilley and there is definitely a sense of Darkus’s growing confidence.

‘The Girls’ – Emma Cline

Due for publication in June 2016, this debut novel is definitely one to watch.

The opening of the novel creates a real sense of desire and perfectly recreates the intensity of being 14.

Evie Boyd is something of a spoiled rich kid, left pretty much alone by her divorced parents and not really fitting in anywhere. When she first sees Suzanne in a park the attraction is evident. Suzanne seems to represent everything that Evie wants but doesn’t have…freedom, confidence, a group etc. Slowly, Evie ingratiated herself into Suzanne’s group and we watch as she gets drawn under the spell of the charismatic cult-leader Russell.

After establishing this almost dream-like setting, Cline shifts her focus into the present. We now see Evie as an adult, alone. Here we learn a little more about what happened to Evie in the summer of 1969, and how her life was intertwined with some truly dark events.

Alternating the focus of the novel between past and present allows the adult Evie the opportunity to reflect on her experiences, but I wonder whether it keeps us just that little too distanced from it all. At times I felt we lost some of the innocence of young Evie as the adult narrator looks back on these times.

The novel is loosely based on the Manson murders, but I think the focus on Evie means this remains at the fore throughout. This was a complex and quite beautifully-written novel, and it seems an assured debut. My only reason for not rating it 5 stars was that I felt the ending was just a little too convenient for Evie.

Thank-you to NetGalley and Random House for the advance copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

‘The Night in Question’ – Laurie Graham

This is the first book of Laurie Graham’s that I’ve read, and I think it helped hugely that it was set in a time period that interests me.

First and foremost, I must say that the character of Dot Allbones was intriguing. A woman of advancing years, I found Dot was a character that I enjoyed listening to. Having moved to London to pursue a career in the music halls, we can see that Dot is part of what we might consider a bygone time. Things are changing around her, and, though she is reluctant to accommodate some of these changes, she is a keen observer of those she comes into contact with.

For the first part of the book, Graham takes her time to establish Dot as a character and to help us see the full details of her daily life. There’s a lot of information given in the novel about what life on the stage would have been like, and some of this felt more like background details given to establish the historical context than details that were relevant to the story.

In my mind, the book got interesting at the point that we start to hear of gruesome murders in and around the Whitechapel area. Thankfully the details of the crimes committed by Jack the Ripper are limited, but there’s enough to convey a sense of the horror that would have been around at the time.

I’m not entirely sure how close to the facts the novel remains, but it’s an entertaining story that keeps you engaged.

‘There Will Be Lies’ – Nick Lake

The cover for this novel, which I picked up because it’s on the CILIP Carnegie 2016 Long-list, gives little away. It suggests the importance of truth to the story, and the images used are somewhat confusing. My response to the cover pretty much sums up my response to this novel.

Shelby is nearly eighteen, but is treated in many ways like a much smaller child by her mother. The reasons for this become clear later.

As I progressed through the story, I found myself wanting to know more about the predicament Shelby finds herself in. The main thread of the story is intertwined with unusual elements that draw on Native American stories/ideas. These were interesting, though I found it disconcerting initially as it tended to distract from the developments within the key story.

For me the main theme of the novel was about the lies people tell, and how we reconcile ourselves to their consequences. An unusual coming-of-age story.

‘Knightley and Son’ – Rohan Gavin

Trying to find books to engage some of our more able readers – without them suddenly having to jump into ‘The Classics’ – is an ongoing issue for me as a teacher. Giving some of our younger students YA titles that deal with more mature themes can be a little off-putting for them. I’m not saying we have to start policing students’ reading material in the way that some condone, but I do feel there is something of a missing market so it is always exciting when someone recommends a new author/series.

Described as a Young Holmes for our times, this series by Rohan Gavin looks like it could form an ideal bridge between two quite distinctive groups of readers.

In this novel we are immediately introduced to the mystery surrounding best-selling book The Code perfectly. It is just macabre enough to pique your interest, without straying too far into gruesome description and putting people off.

When we first meet Knightley he is waking from a coma. We are told he is London’s top private detective so it is understandable that one of the first things he does is get back into trying to solve crimes; only this time he has the help of his thirteen year-old son, Darkus. A curious combination, but it works. Well.

For me this was a cracking read that keeps the reader interested and provides plenty of action. Of course, there are some wildly over-the-top moments and some of the villains could be regarded as pantomime but this is all part of the charm. Great fun.

‘Try Not to Breathe’ – Holly Seddon

A barely-functioning alcoholic journalist stumbles across one of the country’s biggest news stories of fifteen years ago in a vegetative state. Alex Dale is determined to find out exactly what happened to Amy Stevenson, and this book takes us through her experience.

I was gripped from the start, and the opening chapter immediately sets up an intriguing idea. We have so many questions, which we are made to wait a while for…

Alex was a character that I could imagine to be unbearable in life, yet her frailty and vulnerability was laid bare as we progressed through the novel.
The thriller element of this did have me a little wrong-footed. I did not guess who it was, but I was bothered by the fact that the guilty party seemed to be so mysterious throughout.

On occasion, I had to reread sections just to be completely clear whose viewpoint we were getting.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy

‘Liccle Bit’ – Alex Wheatle

I picked this book up because it is on the Long-list for the 2016 CILIP Carnegie Awards. With its focus on teenagers living surrounded by gang-related crime, I felt it had traces of ‘Pigeon English’ by Stephen Kelman.

Lamar – Liccle Bit – lives with his mother, grandmother, sister and nephew in South Crongton. He dreams of escaping his limited world, but isn’t entirely sure how he can achieve this. His dreams look even less likely to come to fruition when the local gang-leader – who also happens to be the father to his nephew – starts to take a special interest in him. Without really being aware of it, Lemar is soon in over his head.

While the backdrop to this novel is bleak, the book was full of humour and I loved the depiction of Lemar and his friends. My only gripe was the ending. While it makes sense to maintain the focus on Lemar and his family, I really would have liked to know a little more about how certain events were resolved.