Mini- Review Roundup #3

This is the third of my mini-review roundups, the result of an offer I made about two weeks ago.
Just 3 mini-reviews this time.

Gavin, who blogs at Page 247, reviewed THE SILENCE OF THE GRAVE by Arnaldur Indridason.

The Silence of the Grave by Arnaldur Indridason
Translated from the Icelandic by Bernard Scudder
Thomas Dunne Books, New York, 2006
Winner of the CWA Gold Dagger Award 2005

Gavin writes
At a birthday party for an eight-year-old boy a medical student discovers a toddler chewing on a human bone. The bone, a rib, was found at a construction site on the edge of the growing city of Reykjavik. With this discovery Detective Inspector Erlender Sveinsson and his colleagues must solve a crime that is decades old.

Erlender has his own problems, his estranged daughter is gravely ill, and his colleagues are not always as helpful as they could be. The detectives dig back into the 1940’s, trying to find out who owned the land and identify a 60-year-old corpse.

Within this well crafted crime drama Indridason draws a devastating portrait of domestic violence. With clarity and compassion he tells of a mother’s loss of self at the hand of her abusive husband, and of her childrens suffering. This is one of the most honest descriptions of an abusive relationship that I have read. Indridason is a master storyteller, weaving different times together in a graceful novel of love and heartbreak.

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Greg is a friend who shares my delight in crime fiction and to whom I lend my books. Here is his take on THE SWEETNESS OF LIFE by Paulus Hochgatterer.

Quercus, 2008, ISBN 978-1-84724-389-8, 248 pages, translated from German by Jamie Bulloch.
Originally published in Germany in 2006 as Die Süße des Lebens.

Reminds me of a Samuel Beckett play- not too many characters with endearing qualities. A lot of tortured souls and not just the psych patients. Although there were a few with some humanity.

Good physical description of place and character development. The translation was stilted in parts. Liked the references to Dylan’s ‘Ballad of a Thin Man’ which added to the feelings of despair and desolation.

Was a bit of a struggle getting into – suspect too many characterisations early on.

Mid section developed a sense of drama and anticipation and rapidity. But the ending which I think the author tried to craft as ‘very clever’ left me dissatisfied. Partly due to the lack of closure on so many aspects of the book’s characters. Partly it was that I don’t think I understood it!!

My own review is here.

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Here is a mini-review from my own records.

THE NAUTICAL CHART by Arturo Perez-Reverte, published in English 2002. Originally written in Spanish 2000.

Coy, a sailor down on his luck meet Tanger Soto, a mysterious scholar who needs him to help search for a shipwreck. He falls for Tanger and ends up involved in a search for the ship and a treasure that may or may not be on board. A romance develops even as Coy learns that Tanger may be using him for his ability to navigate in dangerous waters. This story is set in Spain and contains lots of Spanish history.
Almost a combination of Clive Cussler and Alistair Maclean. There's a lot of detail about navigation and the Jesuits and meridians. Not so much a mystery as a thriller.

Read the first chapter online.

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The mini-roundup will be an ongoing feature of this blog, so if you'd like to submit a mini-review to be published at a later date, you can do it through the form I have set up at Google Docs. Leave a comment somewhere on my blog too so I know you've done so.

Try your hand at a mini-review #3

Mini-Review Roundup is a regular monthly feature of MYSTERIES IN PARADISE, published around the 26th of each month. Make your contribution by about the 23rd.

Previous editions
Mini-Review Roundup #2:
contributors were

• Kirsten from 4IQREAD and
• Margot from Confesssions of a Mystery Novelist
  

Mini-Review Roundup #1:
contributors were

• Bernadette from Reactions to Reading
• Alan from A Million Blogging Monkeys
• Barbara from Barbara Fister's Place
• Maria from Bear Mountain Books
• Wisteria Leigh of Bookworms Dinner
• Kim of Sophisticated Dorkiness

If you have trouble working on the form below, then you can complete it at Google Docs.



Don't forget to go right to the end of the form and click on Submit

Mini-Review Roundup 2

This is the second of my mini-review roundups, the result of an offer I made about two weeks ago.
Just two participants this time.

CITY OF SILVER by Annamaria Alfieri was submitted by Kirsten who blogs at 4IQREAD.

Kirsten writes " In Potosí, the richest city in the Western Hemisphere, Inez de la Morada, the bewitching, cherished daughter of the rich and powerful Mayor, mysteriously dies at the convent of Santa Isabella de los Santos Milagros, where she had fled in defiance of her father. It looks as though the girl committed suicide. But did she?"

Kirsten rated CITY OF SILVER, a historical mystery, as 4/5. She says " I liked the main character and foreign setting."

Click on the cover to read a few pages at Amazon.



THE ABC MURDERS by Agatha Christie was submitted by Margot Kinberg who blogs at Confesssions of a Mystery Novelist.

Margot rates this murder mystery at 5/5, saying " The murder of a elderly shopkeeper in Andover doesn't cause much public stir until a second murder occurs in the seaside resort of Bexhill; this time, the victim is a young woman. Now Scotland Yard gets involved, and an all-out effort is made to catch the murderer before he kills again. The only clues the police have are the ABC railway guides left near the bodies, and the fact that the murderer sends Hercule Poirot, the famous Belgian detective a warning before each murder. Even Poirot doesn't seem about to stop the killings, as two more people die.

As Poirot joins forces with the Yard and with the relatives and friends of the victims, it seems more and more clear that a madman is targeting communities in alphabetical order, and choosing his victims that way, too. In the end, it takes Poirot's genius to put the pieces together and show that things aren't always what they seem.

Agatha Christie is at the top of her form in this novel. The story is told from two different points of view, so that we get to see the plot unfold from two perspectives. That heightens the suspense and is an innovative use of point of view.

The story also makes brilliant use of character. The group of friends and relatives of the murder victims are disparate people who, under ordinary circumstances, would never have met. As they are thrown together, their interactions add to the story and provide Poirot with useful clues to the victims and to the murderer.

Christie's sense of pacing and timing are evident here, too. The story moves quickly, and the suspense builds effectively, especially as Poirot gets closer and closer to the truth of the murders.

Add to that Poirot's knack for understanding the psychology of murder, and the result is a suspenseful novel that tells the story of multiple murders without being graphic - one of Christie's many skills. "

Margo say " I highly recommend this book, especially for Christie fans who haven't read it. For those less familiar with her work, you may wish to start with one or two of her earlier novels, so you can get to know a little more about Captain Hastings and his history with Poirot. You'll enjoy the novel more that way."

Thank you Kirsten and Margot for your contributions.

The mini-roundup will be an ongoing feature of this blog, so if you'd like to submit a mini-review to be published at a later date, you can do it through the form I have set up at Google Docs. Leave a comment somewhere on my blog too so I know you've done so.

Try your hand at a mini-review #2

Publish a mini-review on my blog. Last time I ran this, 6 brave souls contributed.

I'll publish the reviews in a fortnight's time, so make a note, and come back and add your contribution by about 22 September.

If you have trouble working on the form below, then you can complete it at Google Docs.



Don't forget to go right to the end of the form and click on Submit

Mini-Review Roundup

Last week I provided an opportunity for people to submit a mini-review via a Google Docs Form.

There were 6 submissions, so here they are! (Many thanks to the contributors too)

PANIC, Jeff Abbott, a thriller, rating: 3

Review by Bernadette from Reactions to Reading

A thriller featuring a young documentary film maker called Evan who discovers his mother's body, is hounded by her killers and learns that nothing he thought he knew about his family is true.
It was action packed as a good thriller should be but there were so many double (and triple) agents that I lost track of parts of the plot. I listened to this as an audio book and found, rarely, the narrator was not terribly good which I think detracted from my enjoyment.

NO MERCY, John Gilstrap, thriller, rating: 5

Review by Alan from A Million Blogging Monkeys

Jonathan Grave, formerly of Special Ops, has to avenge the vicious murder of his wife as he attempts to retrieve stolen nerve gas from terrorists.
Good features: Action, pacing, characters fighting evil
Gilstrap's other books, including Nathan's Run, are excellent.

BAD THINGS HAPPEN, Harry Dolan, mystery, rating 4

Review by Barbara from Barbara Fister's Place

A mysterious hero falls into an editorial job at a mystery magazine in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and is compelled to find out what led to the publisher being pushed out a window, the first of several deaths. The writing pulled off a preposterous project: to write a puzzle plot reminiscent of golden age mysteries using a hardboiled style, keeping tongue in cheek but not overdoing the archness.
It's billed as a thriller. It isn't. Smart and fun, though.

BIG HAIR, FLYING COWS, Dolores Wilson, mystery, rating 4

Review by Maria from Bear Mountain Books

Bertie is a tow-truck driver in a small town. She's getting threatening letters. Who could it be? She knows everyone and everyone knows her. Is it a joke or does someone really have it in for her???
I loved the humor, the family sagas--love, laughter and tears! Some parts were a little silly and some things were resolved a little too quickly. It's a cozy and it was a fun read!
I will be looking for the next in this series and more from this author!

SHADES OF GRAY, Jessica James, historical fiction, rating 5

Review by Wisteria Leigh of Bookworms Dinner

Although the novel takes place during the Civil War in Virginia, it is also a passionate love story between Alex and Andrea who are fighting on opposing sides. Circumstances bring them together and they are forced to live in the same house. Andrea is a pro-Union Southerner. She can be the Southern Belle, petite and sophisticated or a rough riding horseman spying behind enemy lines for the Union. Alex, the epitome of southern gentile society is a ruthless Confederate Captain. The characters of Alex and Andrea are brought to life in their spirited dialog about the war and their patriotic honor.
Have you ever become so enchantingly entangled in reading a story that it no longer is print on a page but it becomes part of your life? The people have souls, they breathe. The setting is not flat but alive and auditory. You turn pages eager to find out what happens next, but when the end comes you grieve. Shades of Gray is that kind of book and it takes a masterful gifted storyteller like Jessica James to create the allure.
James writes with such wit and ease when Alex and Andrea are bantering back and forth: speaking, screaming, arguing and debating about the war, slavery, states rights and more. The alliteration is awesome and I could read sentences over and over again. Andrea’s unconventional spirit and intelligence makes her my favorite heroine in all literature. What a little spitfire: stubborn, full of spunk, so real and so genuine. I loved this book and carry the memory with me still. A feat not many authors can successfully do. Jessica James has an extraordinary talent. Her writing is untouchable. This one I see as a movie!!!

THE WEIGHT OF SILENCE, Heather Gudenkauf, literary fiction, rating 4

Review written by Kim of Sophisticated Dorkiness

Seven-year-olds Callie and Petra are best friends. Callie, traumatized by an event in her past, hasn't spoken for over three years. Petra has become Callie's voice, and the girls are inseparable. One summer morning, Petra's parents wake up to find their daughter missing. When they go to see if she's with Callie, they discover that Callie is missing too. Fearing the worst, a search begins for the two missing girls which drives the rest of the story forward.
This book is told in multiple voices, which gives you a sense of what the different characters are going through. I thought Gudenkauf did a great job capturing each of the unique voices, and the technique helped to show how much the different characters were not able to tell each other. I also thought the plot of the book -- the search for the two girls -- was compelling and entertaining; I stayed up pretty late for a few nights in a row because I was so eager to finish the book.
My one criticism is that I didn't feel like there was enough to show the relationship that Callie and Petra had. We get a lot of it in flashbacks, but there aren't many scenes with the girls together. Their relationship -- described as soul mates -- is such an integral part of the book, but I never felt like I knew enough about it or really believed it. However, I think this is a small quibble with a book that I enjoyed very much.
I received this book as part of a blog tour for TLC Book Tours. The book is Heather Gudenkauf's debut novel, and I think she did a fantastic job. The book is definitely recommended.