 | Currently I have many more books in the "waiting to be read" pile than I really have any hope of reading in the near future. Several of them seem to arrive each week at present, and sit on the shelves making me feel guilty. So I have decided to feature some of them, (mainly review copies forwarded to me by publishers), in a more or less weekly feature, so you get to consider whether you want to read them. My postings won't be reviews, just titles with publisher's blurbs. Some I may actually read in the near future and then do a proper review. I'd like to also stress that there is no rhyme or reason to my selections. Please note that this listing is in no way a recommendation for you to read a title, simply a chance for you to assess for yourself whether you would like to read it. I will also try to discover whether the book is available on Kindle, particularly for Australian authors which are not necessarily available overseas. |
THE LAST POLICEMAN, Ben H. Winters
Recently the winner of Best Paperback Original in the 2013 MWA Edgar Awards.
Published by Quirk 2012Available on Amazon
Blurb (Amazon)
What’s the point in solving murders if we’re all going to die soon, anyway?
Detective Hank Palace has faced this question ever since asteroid 2011GV1 hovered into view. There’s no chance left. No hope. Just six precious months until impact.
The Last Policeman presents a fascinating portrait of a pre-apocalyptic United States. The economy spirals downward while crops rot in the fields. Churches and synagogues are packed. People all over the world are walking off the job—but not Hank Palace. He’s investigating a death by hanging in a city that sees a dozen suicides every week—except this one feels suspicious, and Palace is the only cop who cares.
The first in a trilogy, The Last Policeman offers a mystery set on the brink of an apocalypse. As Palace’s investigation plays out under the shadow of 2011GV1, we’re confronted by hard questions way beyond “whodunit.” What basis does civilization rest upon? What is life worth? What would any of us do, what would we really do, if our days were numbered?
PRIMAL, D.A. Serra
Published 2012
Blurb (Amazon)
The writer who made you laugh with Punky Brewster, who made you cry with Just Ask My Children, will now make you cringe with PRIMAL. This story was originally purchased by one of America's most prestigious storytellers James Cameron.
What if the worst happens and you are not a cop, or a spy with weapons training and an iron heart? What if you're a schoolteacher - a mother? In this gritty crime thriller a family vacation takes a vicious turn when a fishing camp is invaded by four armed men. With nothing except her brains, her will, and the element of surprise on her side, Alison must kill or watch her family die. And then - things get worse.
THE CELTIC DAGGER, Jill Paterson (Australian author)
Published 2012
Available on Amazon
Blurb (Amazon)
University professor Alex Wearing is found murdered in his study by the Post Graduate Co-coordinator, Vera Trenbath, a nosey interfering busybody. Assigned to the case is Detective Chief Inspector Alistair Fitzjohn. Fitzjohn is a detective from the old guard, whose methodical, painstaking methods are viewed by some as archaic. His relentless pursuit for the killer zeros in on Alex’s brother, James, as a key suspect in his investigation.
Compelled to clear himself of suspicion, James starts his own investigation and finds himself immersed in a web of intrigue, ultimately uncovering long hidden secrets about his brother’s life that could easily be the very reasons he was murdered.
This gripping tale of murder and suspense winds its way through the university’s hallowed halls to emerge into the beautiful, yet unpredictable, Blue Mountain region where more challenges and obstacles await James in his quest to clear himself of suspicion and uncover the truth about his brother.
I reviewed MURDER AT THE ROCKS
THE GHOST RIDERS OF ORDEBEC, Fred Vargas
Published 2013
Blurb (Amazon)
'People will die,' says the panic-stricken
woman outside police headquarters. She has been standing in blazing
sunshine for more than an hour, and refuses to speak to anyone besides
Commissaire Adamsberg.
Her daughter has seen a vision: ghostly horsemen who target the most nefarious characters in Normandy. Since the middle ages there have been stories of murderers, rapists, those with serious crimes on their conscience, meeting a grizzly end following a visitation by the riders.
Soon after the young woman's vision a notoriously cruel man disappears, and the local police dismiss the matter as superstition. Although the case is far outside his jurisdiction, Adamsberg agrees to investigate the strange happenings in a village terrorised by wild rumours and ancient feuds.
I've reviewed other novel in this series.
Her daughter has seen a vision: ghostly horsemen who target the most nefarious characters in Normandy. Since the middle ages there have been stories of murderers, rapists, those with serious crimes on their conscience, meeting a grizzly end following a visitation by the riders.
Soon after the young woman's vision a notoriously cruel man disappears, and the local police dismiss the matter as superstition. Although the case is far outside his jurisdiction, Adamsberg agrees to investigate the strange happenings in a village terrorised by wild rumours and ancient feuds.
I've reviewed other novel in this series.
Primal was so flipping good, great for Mothers day weekend too. I read Ben W other book, want to read this one too.
ReplyDeleteKerrie - Oh, you do have some good ones there. I'll be very interested in what you think of the Paterson and of course the Vargas.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any of those but I also have Primal and the Fred Vargas on my Kindle, hoping to get to reading some day
ReplyDeleteI liked the Ben H Winters book, will look to read the whole trilogy as they are published. Won't be reading the Vargas (she and I are not ...sympatico) and the other two don't appeal from the blurbs.
ReplyDeleteOoh, I am trying so hard not to add to Mount TBR here, the piles or the list.
ReplyDeleteI am reading the Vargas, but also juggling some library books, too. Too many books came into my life at once. And I couldn't say "no" to some of them, including the first Jack Irish novel by Peter Temple.
So, my reading plans went awry. Now I must plod on.
I have heard very good things about The Last policeman, it's on my TBR list as well. I have read Vargas and Primal (I have reviews of both of them up on Crime Fiction Lover website, if you want to see but I completely understand if you don't want to spoil the anticipation). Vargas was good, mellower than some of her other novels,more plausible in many ways, but perhaps not quite her best. Primal is well written and interesting because it looks also at what happens after the traumatic incident, and there are so few crime novels that really examine the consequences.
ReplyDeleteI adored The Last Policeman, but I'm a huge fan of almost everything the author has written. I have an ARC of the second book waiting for me to dive in.
ReplyDelete