Crime – Page 9 – My Good Reads

‘The Shut Eye’ – Belinda Bauer

What can I say? A slow-burner in the sense that I spent most of the book feeling I was missing that one elusive detail that would allow everything to make sense. Yet this was not as off-putting as you might think.

I don’t want to give away any plot details here, but the story focuses on a number of key characters. We have the Buicks, James and Anna, whose son went missing some months ago; Edie Evans, a young girl who has been missing for over a year; DCI Marvel, who was investigating her case and Richard Latham, the psychic who seems to have been involved in both cases.

The focus on Anna, and the day-to-day impact of losing a child, is heart-rending. DCI Marvel is more than little infuriating, but well-meaning, and I found myself desperately hoping he’d get his happy ending and finally manage to put this case behind him. As we veer from story to story it reads like a jigsaw puzzle, with that final piece tantalisingly out of reach.

It’s only after I’d finished reading that I could really appreciate the skill shown in the writing of this novel. A surprise hit – and a writer I might have to try more by.

Lizzie Borden and the Trial of the Century – Sarah Miller

Not knowing anything about this case, I was curious when I received a digital copy of this novel – due for publication on January 12th 2016 – from NetGalley.

I’m giving nothing away when I tell you that this novel tells us the story – gleaned from news reports and other contemporary sources – of the trial of Lizzie Borden, accused of the brutal killings of her father and step-mother. We are taken through the details of the case as it is known, and we are left to make up our own minds about the outcome.

Non-fiction is not something I tend to read out of choice, but this read enough like a novel to keep me interested. What I found fascinating was the way in which the trial itself was conducted and what was revealed about the society of the time.

This is certainly a book that will gain readers’ interest, and it has piqued my curiosity enough to be on the lookout for more information about the case.

‘The Haunted Hotel’ – Wilkie Collins

A contemporary of Dickens, Collins is not the kind of writer you tend to stumble across. I first came across his works when I had to read ‘The Woman in White’ as part of my studies, and I was intrigued by the idea of ‘The Moonstone’ being the first detective novel. I had never read this, and decided it was about time to try something a little different.

The first thing that I have to say about this novel is that it focuses on a rather straightforward mystery, but is made that little more special due to the fascination with the supernatural.

Lord Montbarry breaks off his engagement to Agnes Lockwood, he marries the mysterious Countess Narona (about which there are more than one or two rumours) and then travels to a run-down palace in Venice. We learn of Montbarry’s death, and the mysterious circumstances surrounding it. Suspicious, Montbarry’s brother travels to Venice to try and determine exactly what happened. The palace in Venice where Montbarry was staying has been turned into a fashionable hotel, but mysterious things are seen there.

I shan’t give away the specific details of what transpired, but it was a well-plotted and interesting story. What really stuck out to me was the deep interest in the supernatural that Collins shows. Some of the descriptions were quite horrific, but I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.

‘The Lake House’ – Kate Morton

Living on her family’s idyllic lakeside estate in Cornwall, England, Alice Edevane is a bright, inquisitive, innocent, and precociously talented sixteen-year-old who loves to write stories. But the mysteries she pens are no match for the one her family is about to endure…

One night, Alice’s younger brother Theo goes missing. Although the house was full of party guests, Theo is never found.

Many years later a police officer visiting her grandfather stumbles across Alice’s old family home, now deserted. She starts asking questions about the estate and what happened there.

Throughout the reading I was picking over every little detail and trying to work out what was significant. It felt like the stories took a while to weave together, but I quickly got caught up in it. Unfortunately, though I enjoyed it at the time I can’t help but feel the ending was contrived.

‘The Light That Gets Lost’ – Natasha Carthew

When Trey is a young child he is witness to a traumatic event. In the real world, this would result in all manner of therapy and monitoring – here, he is kind of left to get on with things, determined to get his revenge on his parents’ murderer.

I wanted to like this book, but it was hard to get into. The initial idea that he would grow up a petty criminal and just happen to get sent to a juvenile detention camp where the killer is was a step too far.

There were some beautiful passages in the story, but not enough to really keep someone hooked. Towards the end it got interesting – but I can see many readers giving up before this point.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

‘The Hollow Boy’ – Jonathan Stroud

What can I say? Another great adventure in the Lockwood & Co. series.

This time, there is a supernatural outbreak that is taxing all the agencies in London. Old rivalries are put aside as the agents have to work together to keep alive.

Glamorous new assistant, Holly Munro, causes some upset and the skull in the jar is becoming more and more vocal.

The ending hints at a dark and terrible future. I personally can’t wait for the next in the series!

‘The Black-Eyed Blonde’ – Benjamin Black

This was my attempt to read something from a genre I’m not familiar with. I have only a passing interest in detective movies/novels and I admit to reading this because it was passed on to me to try, rather than it being a deliberate choice.

The story focuses on the attempts of Private Detective Phillip Marlowe to find the former lover of beautiful heiress, Claire Cavendish. Tales of dodgy dealings and double-crossings abound, and there was a certain fascination for me in reading a book so firmly placed in this time-period.

I confess to feeling completely distant from the events/characters. The ‘big reveal’ was heavily hinted at, and I found the whole thing dated in style. I’m aware this may have been intentional, but it didn’t leave a lasting impression on me.

I may well try ‘The Big Sleep’ or another Raymond Chandler to see if the original is, in this case, better than what comes later…

‘Center of Gravity’ – Laura McNeill

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

Let me start by saying that this is not the kind of book I would normally go for, but I am so pleased I gave it a try. A marriage in decline is not a pleasant thing at any time – but to observe the rapidity of this experience was quite unsettling.

On the surface Mitchell and Ava seem to have it all. Very quickly we are alerted to the idea that not everything is as rosy as it seems, though it takes Ava some time to come to this realisation. While I was initially unsure about the telling of the story from multiple viewpoints, I found this helped strengthen my feelings for the character of Ava.

I don’t like to give spoiler details in my reviews, but I found this well-plotted and hard to put down. It felt horribly realistic at times, which might not be to everyone’s tastes, but I think it is a book that deserves to be read.

‘I Let You Go’ – Clare Mackintosh

This is, definitely, a book that you want to know nothing else about – other than what is given in the blurb – before you read it.

The opening description of the accident that changes Jenna Gray’s life is heart-wrenching. I was so immersed in the book that the ‘astonishing twist’ referred to on the cover took me totally by surprise and I had to go back and re-read a section as I thought I’d missed something. Once I realised I hadn’t, I was gripped and desperate to find out just what was going on!

Sometimes a book comes along that you want to devour. This was one of those books.

‘Broken Harbour’ – Tana French

I had been introduced to this author by a colleague in work. ‘Faithful Place’ intrigued me and was certainly an enjoyable foray into crime writing. The blurb for this gave little away, but I was hooked by the idea that someone who was murdered would have, even inadvertently, done something to ‘invite it in’.

I couldn’t resist checking out reviews on Amazon, and I’m not giving anything away to reveal that the novel opens with the deaths of two children and their father being discovered, and their mother being taken to intensive care. What follows is a detailed and thorough account of the investigation into the murder case by Scorcher Kennedy, Dublin’s star detective.

From the opening pages I felt like I trusted our narrator; he was a character that I wanted to do well. He was not without his flaws, and the effects on him and his personal life of the investigation were compelling reading.

I was less sure about his partner, rookie Richie Curran, but I felt the developing relationship between the two men was engaging, and allowed French to explain some of the procedure involved in the investigation without patronising us. At times the total immersion into the experience was far from comfortable, but I could not put the book down. Once it became clear that there were two suspects, neither of whom seemed completely plausible, I was desperately trying to work out what had happened. I didn’t come close!