Here in Cold Hell

Tanith Lee
2005
ISBN 0 330 41310 4

Book 2 of the Lionwolf Trilogy, and better than the first, if only because there is no 'perfect' hero riding around ruining it for everyone else.  In fact, his hell is more intriguing than Lionwolf himself.

Cast a Bright Shadow

Tanith Lee
2004
ISBN 0-330-41309-0

Finished last week sometime; have been really lazy and not reviewed it, but it was good enough to hold my interest, which is saying something at the moment.  Currently reading book 2 of the trilogy.

Highlander In Love

Julia London
2005
0-7434-6508-3

Half-naked man on the cover means I approached this book with a measure of skepticism, and the title means I really wasn't expecting much in the way of indepth prose.

Luckily, both cover and title belied the story itself, which had a healthy dose of humour and a lot of rural Scotland in it, making it more than readable. The love scenes I pretty much skipped over, but the ebb and flow of the story made it interesting enough without them anyway.

The author has apparently written about the other members of the family as well, but I don't think I'll be in a hurry to hunt them down. While this was a good weekend read, I'm just not that interested in the rest of the family.

Date Finished: 18/08/08
Year Total: 27

The Shadow Walker:

Murder at the Edge of the World
Michael Walters
2006
1-84724-080-1

The blurb on the back of book describes an horrific murder facing Nergui, chief of the Serious Crimes Team in Mongolia, so it came as a surprise that much of the story, including the entire first half, is told from the point of view of a British detective instead.

That small gripe aside, it was refreshing to read a murder mystery in such an exotic location, and the story came together at a good pace, without the sneak peeks at the bad guys that you usually get.

Nergui remained a mystery until the end, and while I didn't feel that the outcome was as sinister as the blurb predicted, it was realistic and retained the edginess right to the very last page. This was a good weekend book, as it was easy to get lost in.

Date Finished: 09/07/08
Year Total: 26

Intimate Letters

Bel Mooney
1997
0-7515-2261-9

Rosa McKee, just on the point of forgiving her husband for forgetting their 22nd wedding anniversary, is shocked when he dies of a heart attack, shattering her life.
But hard on the heels of her loss is the discovery of letters that he had written - love letters, to a mystery woman. Rosa's grief is replaced with fury, and as the betrayals mount up, she is forced to work through them, for no one can survive on hate alone.
This is very different to the books I generally read, and I found it stifling to be trapped in a first-person view for so long, especially as so much of the story happens in Rosa's mind. It was a relief to get it finished, and I have to admit, I don't think I'm the right kind of audience for this introspective, emotional journey.

Date Finished: 28/06/08
Year Total: 25

Reprisal

Peter Yeldham
1994
1-86412-020-7

Seven years after a near-perfect bank robbery in Sydney, the body of the only man caught turns up bobbing in Sydney Harbour. Detective Frank Borodin is put on the case by his boss McTaggart, who, although he has been obsessed with the case from the get-go, is a pain in the backside who is quickly relegated a fringe role. Borodin, his young partner and impossibly beautiful girlfriend throw themselves into the case, only to discover that it is not the main crime going on.

This was an entertaining read. Borodin is a fairly down-to-earth character, and was by far the most realistic - everyone else seemed exaggarated almost beyond a joke; Toby reminds me of an eager puppy, McTaggart is a bolshy political wannabe, while every man in the vicinity seems to fall in love with Joanna at first sight. Still, these are minor complaints, as each character is outshone by the storyline itself, which stayed interesting well after the showdown with the bad guy.

Date Finished: 23/06/08
Year Total: 24

The Officers' Ward

Marc Dugain
1998
1-86159-177-2

Lieutenant Adrian, arriving at the front lines at the beginning of the Great War, is blown up on his very first day and removed to Paris, where he spends the entire war in a hospital ward built especially for men who have lost their faces.

Between operations to repair the damage and rebuild what they can, Adrian finds three friends, and together they find the strength to continue living in the face of fear and pity in the outside world.

Written sparsely, this book is strangely moving; in spite of the sometimes bald narration, you are drawn in to the world of the sheltered and injured, so that the ending is both poignant and heartbreaking. This was a surprise find, and one that will be with me for a long time.

Date finished: 17/06/08
Year total: 23