City of Sins

Daniel Blake
2011
ISBN 9780007384501

Contains spoilers for Soul Murder, the first book in the series.

Soul Murder

Daniel Blake
2009
ISBN 9781439197486

Opening with a stock-standard raid in a bad neighbourhood, this book holds nothing back. Patrese and Beradino begin with a murder, an arrest, and a shooting, but are quickly catapulted into a whole different league: high profile men of the city are being burned alive.

With few clues and personal issues clouding the way, this book starts relatively slowly but quickly builds into a gripping, tension-filled ride of double-guessing and double-dealings.

I was kept guessing until the very end, and was taken by surprise, without feeling like I'd missed something obvious. The hints were in place, but presented in such a way that I don't know if anyone could have picked it.

Religion features heavily in this story. The fundamentals of both Christianity and Islam are explored more than I'd expected, and I found the casual way the Bible was quoted and God was referenced became a little distracting. Still, it was important to the story, and Patrese's reluctance to engage religion in any form helped to counterbalance the fervour of everyone else.

I really enjoyed this. Not being the usual kind of book I read, I wasn't sure how I'd go with it, but it was a refreshing change, and the heaviness of some of the details weren't so strong as to put me off reading.

Date finished: 08/12/13

Rating: 4/5

The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Neil Gaiman
2013
0062255657

When you're 7, the world is huge, adults are to be trusted, and magic exists in that but-not-really kind of way.

And then all of a sudden you find a hole in your foot and you learn that the world is a much bigger - and smaller - place than you could ever have imagined.

This is the story of a boy who finds himself a new friend and a dreadful new enemy, and how he does his best to stay safe.  It's an interesting tale, but it didn't draw me in the way Gaiman's books usually do.

I couldn't quite find enough sympathy for the young narrator, and was more interested in the rest of the story.  So many things were alluded to that held so much promise, but the main story crowded them out.

This is the first Gaiman book I've read that I haven't quite connected with, and I have a feeling that a re-read in a year or two might yield a different result - once the hype has died down some, and I can read it without expectation.

Date finished: 18.11.13
Rating: 3/5

Red Lily

Nora Roberts

2005

9780515139402

I’m not one for romance novels.  I fell into this trilogy as a club read, and while the romance side of it seemed contrived and over the top, the ghost story drew me in enough to read the second book, and now the third.

Hayley is the last woman left of the three, so it’s her turn to give in to all sorts of hot flushes, fantasies and knee-buckling kisses.  Her man, the son and heir of the house, is the usual perfect blend of masculinity and endearing irritating traits that all of the other men in the trilogy had, and they skirt around each other with no real obstacles, except for the insane ghost.

Amelia, the ghost, is the real star of this story.  Hardened and unbalanced, her story is finally exposed, and the truth about what happened over a hundred years before comes to light.

The happy ending (for everyone, naturally) came too quickly, after an entire book devoted to building the tension.  Everything was tidily wrapped up within three pages, and it seemed like a bit of an anti-climax.  Even a last look at Amelia, being at peace, would have brought more closure.  Instead, there was an extract from the next book that Roberts released.

I left this series with a feeling of dissatisfaction, and I’m a bit mystified at how she’s such a popular writer.

Finished 17.11.13
Rated 2/5

The Book Thief

Markus Zusak
2005
978-0-375-84220-7

Liesel meminger is the daughter of a communist - a precarious thing to be in 1939 Germany.  She is given to a foster family in a new town, and she is taught to read from a gravedigger's manual - the first book she steals.

Words become her life, along with her new papa and Max, the Jewish fighter who is living in their basement.  Max, who depends on Liesel to be his eyes in a terrifying, hateful world.  There is also Rudy, the boy next door, her best friend and partner in crime, who can't understand why she steals books and not food.

Liesel is watched by the narrator, the busiest narrator during one of his busiest periods, and he shares her story in her own words.

Exquisitely crafted, this story lures you in to a life of everyday poverty, the spectre of war and of battles with bullies.  There is humour to be found here, and love.  And heartbreak.

This is a story that will stick with me for a long time to come.  It is haunting and chilling, intense in dark moments and endearing in lighter ones.

This is a story that I'm immensely grateful to have found.

Finished 16/11/13.
Read for Online Book Club December group read

The Dark

James Herbert
1980
ISBN 0330376209 

Bishop, paranormal investigator and skeptic, finds himself confronting an idea that goes against every scientific theory he has - that evil has managed to become a physical force, invading the minds of Londoners.  The evidence - and the bodies - pile up, but how can it be stopped?

Written in 1980, this book easily translates to the present day.  The medical and scientific terminology still fits, and serves to deepen the disquiet this book brings to the reader.

The tension builds smoothly, and I did find myself how any kind of ending could fit within the remaining pages and still do justice to everything that preceded it - and with the resolution presenting itself in the final few sentences, I was a little disappointed at the sudden, rushed climax.

The afterword tempered that slightly, but I would have liked it to be a bit more detailed.  Even so, this was a solid horror based on the scariest of ideas - that of man indulging in his darkest thoughts.

Finished 06.10.13

The Boy who Lived with Ghosts

John Mitchell

2013

ISBN 0615793207

This is not a book I would choose without a prompt to do so, but I’m glad I gave it a go.

The settings - housing estates and pubs - paint a vivid picture right from the beginning, and the interactions of the family members bring to life an interesting and volatile childhood that, although it’s revealed in a touching and amusing way, is quite shocking at the same time.

I liked the way John parroted the phrases of the adults around him, casually pointing out that he’d break his bloody neck one day, and the way he started each chapter with a complete deconstruction of any earlier optimism made it hard to remember that this isn’t fiction - this was a real childhood, shocking in places and difficult by any standards.

Margueretta takes centre stage, claiming any and all attention, healthy or not, and in the early days of mental illness diagnoses, created every kind of tension in an already tough situation.  I felt sympathetic to the entire family, but perhaps for John’s mother most of all, and her breakdown was more expected than surprising. 

This was a fascinating glimpse into a different time, and a different way of life.  

Finished 28/10/13
Read as monthly read for OnlineBookclub.org

Hyddenworld: Awakening

William Horwood

2011

0230712614 

This book opened with a more in-depth retelling of the final chapters of the book that preceded it, which I appreciated.  Dropping catch-up details throughout a book can get irritating, so it was a refreshing change to have it all done and out of the way right from the beginning.

Spring was about Brum, and Englalond.  This second installment has expanded the world to Europe, and the entire Earth, and follows characters on all sides of the struggle for the Spring gem.  Less about Jack and more about the world at large.

Judith, the Shield Maiden, is a tortured character, one moment a child and the next more adult than her parents, but her story was less interesting to me than that of Bedwyn Stort.  I wouldn’t have guessed from the first book that his thread would have been such an important one.

I found this book to be more interesting and slightly more adult than the first book.  The language is still wonderfully easy to absorb, in spite of the more complex politics and ideas, and hints of things to come.  It follows well with the idea of each book being a season in the story, and I’m looking forward to seeing how Autumn and Winter develop.

Finished 16/10/13

Hyddenworld: Spring

William Horwood
2009
0230712606

This is a re-read – I first read this book in 2010, and thoroughly enjoyed it.  This time around was prompted by finding the second book in the series, and wanting to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything important.  (it turns out that wasn’t necessary, as the first part of the second book seems to be the last few chapters of book one, which is helpful)

Easy to read and beautifully composed, this book seems at times to be written for children – the language is easy to absorb and brings to life the forgotten corners of semi-rural England – but the themes and politics keep it interesting for an older audience.

The characters are flawed, in the generally adorable manner of a trusted circle of good guys, without being overly saccharine.  The world-building isn’t overbearing, and is as much a part of the story as the unfolding of their journey.

Jack and Katherine’s love story is slow and sweet, although I did find that Jack settling into life at the cottage at the beginning seemed to be less smooth than the rest of the narrative.

I really enjoyed this as a quick retreat from the world over lunchbreaks.  Not too demanding, and interesting enough that I’m already into the sequel.

Finished: 11/10/13