Book Review: FULL DARK HOUSE BY CHRISTOPHER FOWLER

Genre:  Crime & Mystery
Published by:  Bantam  (Sept 2004)
Pages:  412  (Paperback)
My Rating:  9.5 / 10

Blurb from the back of the book:

Arthur Bryant and John May of the Met’s little-known Peculiar Crimes Unit are London’s longest-serving detectives.  When a bomb claims Bryant’s life, it ends a partnership that has lasted for over half a century.
Desperately searching for clues to the killer’s identity, May becomes convinced that the answer is to be found in their very first assignment together.  It was in London, during the Blitz, and it all began when a beautiful dancer was found without her feet …....

This is the 1st book in the Bryant & May detective series and it introduces us to the two men who first met over 60 years ago.  Arthur Bryant, the ‘bright-eyed and restless’ young man who was ‘filled to exhaustion with ideas’ , ‘distracted and a little awkward’ and who ‘said what he meant’ ….... and John May, the ‘reserved, serious one’ who ‘meant what he said’.

The story starts in the present on the night that a bomb has obliterated the PCU’s office where Bryant (who was an insomniac) was working.  May is devastated and vows to solve the murder but, on investigating, he realises that the answer lies in the past.

The plot weaves nicely between the present and the past as we are introduced to a whole host of quirky characters in the dark, secret world of Theatre life in 1940.  Bryant and May bicker and argue like an old married couple, trying to solve not one but several murders in the Theatre, and a strange phantom is sighted by several of the cast of the play.  Could this be the murderer or is he just a figment of their nervous imagination?

This is a very enjoyable and dark comedy of a story, the character’s backgrounds are described in detail, the original and intelligent plot is full of twists, and Christopher Fowler’s use of language is very clever.

Bryant and May are two very endearing grumpy old men who complemented each other very well and I did love their humorous conversations!

The narrative driven plot enhanced the story forwards very nicely to its unexpected and surprising conclusion.

This is my 3rd read in The Mystery & Suspense Reading Challenge 2011 hosted by Book Chick City

This is my 2nd read in The Great Transworld Crime Caper Challenge

There are another 7 books in this wonderfully quirky series and I look forward to reading them all! They are --

• The Water Room (2004)
• Seventy-Seven Clocks  (2005)
• Ten Second Staircase  (2006)
• White Corridor  (2007)
• The Victoria Vanishes  (2008)
• Bryant and May on the Loose  (2009)
• Off the Rails  (2010)

For more on Christopher Fowler please click here

Have you read any or all of these books?

Which one do you think is the best?

Leave a comment and I will put a link to your review

BOOK REVIEW: THE REVERSAL BY MICHAEL CONNELLY

Genre: Crime and Mystery

Published by: Orion Books (October 2010)

Pages: 400 (Hardback)

My Rating: 8.5/10

THE REVERSAL BY MICHAEL CONNELLY

About the Book:

When Mickey Haller is invited by the Los Angeles County District Attorney to prosecute a case for him, he knows something strange is going on. Mickey's a defense lawyer, one of the best in the business, and to switch sides like this would be akin to asking a fox to guard the hen-house.

But the high-profile case of Jason Jessup, a convicted child-killer who spent almost 25 years on death row before DNA evidence freed him, is an intriguing one - particularly since the DA's determination to re-charge and re-try him for the same crime seems doomed to failure.

Eager for the publicity and drawn to the challenge, Mickey takes the case, with Detective Harry Bosch on board as his lead investigator. But as a new trial date is set, it starts to look like he's been set up, with the renewed prosecution merely a tactic to prevent Jessup from successfully suing the state and county for millions of dollars.

To avoid humiliation, Mickey and Harry are going to have to dig deep into the past and find the truth about Melissa Landy and what really happened to her all those years ago.

My Thoughts:

The characters of Mickey Haller (criminal defence attorney) and Harry Bosch (Detective) are both well known to readers of Michael Connelly's other books.

But I was a little worried as I hadn't ready any of his books before and wondered if I wouldn't really know the characters by not reading them before. But I needn't have been concerned as Connelly managed to give just the right amount of back story for each so that, by the end of the book, I felt I knew them both pretty well.

The first part of the novel deals with the build up to the trial, the story of Jessup's conviction and the reasons for the re-trial, the talking to the witnesses, choosing the jurors, all of which made an interesting and steady build up to the trial.

The last part then deals with the trial itself which I thought was the most compelling and fascinating, I love court room dramas and this did not disappoint.

I also really enjoyed the way the story alternated chapters between the lst person of Mickey Haller and the 3rd person of Harry Bosch. I really got a feel of how each character was thinking and of how the characters thought of each other. It really brought a new dimension to the story.

This is a wonderful description of a judge presiding over another trial:-

Presiding over this anthill was Judge Malcolm Firestone, who sat with his head down and his sharp shoulders jutting up and closer to his ears with each passing year. His black robe gave them the appearance of folded wings and give him the overall image of a vulture waiting impatiently to dine on the bloody detritus of the justice system

This was a storyline that kept me intrigued throughout with intelligent characterisations, simply told explanations of the justice system, a couple of twists and turns scattered about, and is one of the best court room dramas I have read for a long time. Thoroughly enjoyable!

For more on Michael Connelly his website is here

Also, many thanks to Waterstones.com for sending me this book to review.

I must just add that the book I received was an uncorrected bound manuscript proof and the quoted text above may not appear exactly as quoted in the actual book.

BOOK REVIEW: TRUTH BY PETER TEMPLE

Genre: Crime

Published by: Quercus Books (1st July 2010)

Pages: 406 (Paperback)

My Rating: 7/10

TRUTH BY PETER TEMPLE

About the Book:

At the close of a long day, Inspector Stephen Villani stands in the bathroom of a luxury apartment high above the city. In the glass bath, a young woman lies dead. Villani’s job as the head of the Victoria Police Homicide Squad is bathed in blood and sorrow. Incapable of constancy as a father and husband, damaged as a son, his life is his work. It is his identity, his calling, his touchstone. Now, over a few sweltering summer days, as fires burn across the state and his superiors and colleagues scheme and jostle, his soul is about to be laid bare. Truth is a novel about a man, a family, a city. It is about violence, murder, love, corruption, honour and deceit. And it is about truth.

My Thoughts:

Set in Melbourne, Australia it took me a while to get used to Peter Temple's short sharp sentences where not one word is wasted in this compelling and taut thriller.

As the new Head of Homicide, Steve Villani doesn't trust anyone to do the job properly, he has to know everything, the previous Head (Singo) believed that :

Homicide ate you........Singo told them not to obsess but he judged them by how much they obsessed, how little time they spent at home. No one survived who didn't pass the HCF test: Homicide Comes First.

At the beginning, Villani comes across as an unpleasant character, but he was compelling to know, brought up by a father who showed him no love, he only sees the seedy side of the people and the city and thought he was just like his old boss in many ways. Throughout the book Villani reminisces about his personal life, his failed marriage, his daughter who gets mixed up with the wrong people, his childhood where he and his father plant a whole forest of trees together, his relationships with friends, and we gradually see a different side to him, one which he never shows to his colleagues.

This is a fascinating mix of political intrigue, multiple murders and big business and the writing never slows, the pace is relentless. It was set against the backdrop of a raging fire which is coming ever closer to his father's farm which adds another dimension to the suspense.

There were so many characters and I got confused quite often as to who was who, in fact one person was mentioned early on and I only found out who he was half way through, which I found quite annoying.

Overall, a fast and furious thriller. If you're looking for a 'hard-boiled' crime novel then you won't be disappointed.

Book Review: SILENT SCREAM BY LYNDA LA PLANTE

Genre: Crime Fiction

Published by: Simon & Schuster (June 2010)

Pages: 515 (Paperback)

My Rating: 8/10

SILENT SCREAM BY LYNDA LA PLANTE

The Victim: Beautiful, young, up and coming English actress Amanda Delany

The Crime: Brutally murdered

The Place: In her London mews house, where she had recently moved into

My Thoughts:

This is a good, solid, no frills crime thriller and is the 5th book which features DI Anna Travis. I hadn't read any of the previous books, in fact this is the first time I've read anything by Lynda La Plante, but I've watched her books being made into successful TV Series such as 'Widows' and 'Prime Suspect' so I knew some of what to expect.

DI Anna Travis's back story was carefully woven into the story which made me feel as if I'd known her for some time, and didn't think I was missing some vital information.

Amanda Delany's character was very flawed and sad and seemed very real as Travis delved deeper and deeper into her personal life and the murky world she inhabited, whilst I felt sorry for her I also disliked her very much, she treated people cruelly and made quite a few enemies.

It was a wonder to Anna.......how such a delicate, confused and tortured creature could not only be phenomenally successful but very rich and......very much in charge of her finances. It felt as if she was investigating two women, instead of just one girl. With so many physical ailments, Anna wondered how on earth Amanda Delany had got herself out of bed each day to work on the film set.

While the police were investigating Amanda's murder, Travis's soon-to-be-retired boss put her up for promotion but it was felt by some of her colleagues that she didn't share enough of her information with them and they thought this made them look incompetent and there were a few conflicts with her peers which all added to the story, and made her look human, and a fascinating character.

Even thought it was over 500 pages long it didn't feel like it, La Plante's fast paced descriptive writing was easy to read featuring mostly well-defined characters and believable situations.

Lynda La Plante talking about Silent Scream

Book Review: Fallen Idols by Neil White

Genre: Crime Fiction
Published by: AVON, a division of HarperCollins (2007)
Pages: 500
ISBN-10: 1847560075
ISBN-13: 978-1847560070









Synopsis:

A Premiership footballer is murdered on a busy London street, and a country is gripped by terror. Who lies behind this apparently motiveless killing - and who's next?

Crime-beat reporter Jack Garrett is convinced that this is no celebrity stalker. Aided by DC Laura McGanity, desperately trying to juggle police life with motherhood, the trail leads them to Turners Fold, Lancashire - Jack's home town.

What's the connection between the recent assassination and the murder of a young girl there ten years before? Could it be that people are not all they seem - and will do anything for their fifteen minutes of fame?

First Line:
"Sunny afternoons in London shouldn't happen this way."


This was Neil White's debut novel and it is the best crime fiction I've read this year.


From the first page to the last I was swept along on a rollercoaster ride of twists and turns, with the odd red herring here and there for good measure. We were introduced to freelance journalist Jack Garrett who I liked straight away, and his 'girlfriend' DC Laura McGanity, who I felt wasn't very developed as a character throughout the novel, maybe in subsequent stories we learn more about her.


This is an excerpt from near the beginning when the murderer is getting ready to shoot the footballer -

"She closed her eyes and prayed as she listened to the rifle being assembled, the soft clicks joined by Ben's deep breaths and the chatter and movement of Old Compton Street, the soundtrack to a glorious afternoon in Soho".

It really was a book that I just couldn't put down, every few pages was a cliffhanger, and just when I thought Neil White was taking the story one way he turns and takes it in a completely different direction.

He has been compared to crime writers such as Mark Billingham which is high praise indeed. If you're looking for someone new I would definitely recommend him, I don't think you will be disappointed.

Extras:
Neil White's other novels :
Lost Souls (2008)
Last Rites (2009)




I'm looking forward to hearing him talk when he appears at our local Library next month.

Book Review: Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell (Kurt Wallander, Book 1)

This is Henning Mankell's 1st book (of 9) in the Inspector Wallander series.

My review is based on the abridged audio version recently serialised on BBC Radio 7.

Synopsis:
One frozen January morning at 5 am, Inspector Wallander responds to what he believes is a routine call out. When he reaches the isolated farmhouse he discovers a bloodbath. An old man has been tortured and beaten to death, his wife lies barely alive beside his shattered body, both victims of a violence beyond reason. The woman supplies Wallander with his only clue: the perpetrators may have been foreign. When this is leaked to the press, it unleashes racial hatred. Kurt Wallander is a senior police officer. . But now, with winter tightening and his activities being monitored by a tough-minded district attorney, Wallander must throw himself into a battle against time and against mounting xenophobia.

This is the first Henning Mankell book I've read/listened to and I know that he is a very popular Swedish best selling author.

Kurt Wallander is your typical over-worked Detective, working long hours but has tremendous dedication for the job at hand. In this book, Wallander has very few clues and no obvious motive for the horrendous murders of a farmer and his wife in their isolated farmhouse. There are some red herrings along the way and also some lucky breaks. It was an easy book to listen to, the writing is fast and pacy, but not too fast that you get confused.

What I Liked About This Book ~ It was a good murder mystery book and I certainly didn't guess 'who dunnit' which is always a bonus!

What I Didn't Like ~ The Swedish names were hard to remember but I know that's just me being pedantic! It is based in Sweden after all!

Why Did I Read It ~ I love a good detective story and I'd heard good things about Henning Mankell's books so I thought it was time that I tried one.

Would I Recommend It ~ Yes, and I'll certainly be looking out for his other books in the series.


Here is a list of the other books in the Kurt Wallander series ~

The Dogs of Riga

The White Lioness

The Man Who Smiled

Sidetracked

The Fifth Woman

One Step Behind

Firewall

The Pyramid