Raylan by Elmore Leonard

Raylan by Elmore Leonard

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Disappointing. This is not a novel, it's a novella and two somewhat related short stories – and it reads like what it probably is: the season opening two-part episode of the series "Justified" followed by two single episodes.

Meh!

In the Woods by Tana French

In the Woods by Tana French

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I feel totally betrayed by this book, so be warned that I don't care if spoilers follow...

And if you think Catcher in the Rye had any redeeming features, you may not quite agree with me...

For 300 pages, I loved the story. We have two murder investigations, 20 years apart, that may have a connection, a cast of likable characters, and a good, workable plot.

Then the two lead characters sleep together, and he turns into Holden Caulfield: a complete, self-absorbed, jerk.

I know real people are like that, and it happens all the time – but why on earth would anybody want to read about them? You don't have to have happy endings, but I feel my time is wasted when nobody even tries to reach one.

Three thumbs down.

Prague Fatale by Philip Kerr

Prague Fatale by Philip Kerr

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I don't generally like mysteries with flawed, self-hating, detectives, but I do love historical fiction, and Kerr's Bernie Gunther is a very special case. When you're a non-Nazi cop in WW II Germany, forced to dance to Reynard Heydrich's tune, you have plenty of reason for self-hate.

Gunther is a good cop in a bad situation, and fighting a losing battle with his own morality – not because he's turning to evil, but simply because every time he tries to do something good, the best that's available is not-quite-as-bad. He feeds two old Jewish spinsters in his apartment building – but all it does is keep them alive long enough to be sent to the concentration camp. He routinely accedes to the wishes of his Nazi masters, purely to stop them using somebody else who would have no qualms about the things he's ordered to do. Of course he feels like committing suicide on a daily basis and – because he's a good man who thinks that he can somehow have a positive effect – day after day, he doesn't. It should be depressing, but somehow it isn't.

The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz

The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel by Anthony Horowitz

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Somewhere around a thousand authors must have tried their hands at Sherlock Holmes, as he's been so long out of copyright, so I don't really understand how the Arthur Conan Doyle Estate really feels they have any particular right to choose an author to write an "authorized" Sherlock Holmes novel, but I must say they did a pretty good job in choosing Horowitz.

It's a long time since I have actually read Conan Doyle's novels, but this novel certainly reads the way I recall those stories. Holmes, Watson, Lestrade, Mrs. Hudson and even Moriarty, seem totally authentic. The two intertwined cases show Holmes usual brand of brilliance in detection – though Horowitz’ version relies on a whopping great coincidence to tie them together. I can't help thinking Conan Doyle would not have approved.

Only once in a while did a glaring anachronism manage to creep in – I wonder if it's actually easier for an American to write about 1890 London than it would have been for someone living in London today. The one that jumped out at me was a police officer giving the arrested man his rights: “you are not obliged to say anything unless you desire to do so, but whatever you do say I shall take down in writing...” This wouldn't have happened prior to the Judges Rules of 1912, at least.

The Track of Sand by Andrea Camilleri

The Track of Sand by Andrea Camilleri

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


As always, a fine outing by a writer who makes you want to visit Sicily. I'm distressed about the reading glasses though...

“Wearing glasses for reading meant surrendering to old age without the least bit of a fight.” Honest, I put up a fight. I got a good ten years of perfect vision from laser surgery, but it's reading glasses all the time, now.

The Draining Lake by Arnaldur Indriðason

The Draining Lake by Arnaldur Indriðason

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


An interesting outing from a new-to-me author, but I can't say I cared much for any of the characters, less for the disillusioned-communist backstory, and it wasn't much of a whodunnit – we know almost from the start who dunnit, and the list of possible who-was-duns is small.

So, I'd try another book by Indriðason, but won't be pushing him to the top of my to-read list.

The Age of Doubt by Andrea Camilleri

The Age of Doubt by Andrea Camilleri

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Well, that was amazing. I think it took 90 minutes to read. The Montalbano mysteries are always an easy read, but this one just flew by.

This makes up for the previous Camilleri I read: The Wings of the Sphinx

The Last Six Million Seconds by John Burdett

The Last Six Million Seconds by John Burdett

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The title refers to the time left, at the start of the novel, to the official handover of Hong Kong to China by the British. As a thriller set in the politics of the period, it's great. The author obviously understands the political and cultural environment of the period, and one can only desperately hope that he's exaggerating (though I suspect not...).

Unfortunately, his understanding of some of the technical details of his plot seem a bit weak. Our hero, Chief Inspector "Charlie" Chan, discovers a cache of "pure" Uranium 235, but fortunately leaves its actual recovery to others - who die gruesomely of radiation burns within a couple of days. Well, I grew up immersed in nuclear physics – my father taught it to nuclear plant operators – and I was pretty sure that couldn't happen. No less an authority than the US Centers for Disease Control agrees with me. The effects described are actually what you would get from exposure to spent fuel, not pure ²³⁵U. Without generating too much of a spoiler, suffice it to say that earlier he accepts personal testimony as definitive without apparently back-checking the facts, and later he has to send evidence to Scotland Yard for analysis, which surely any competent lab could have handled in Hong Kong.

Still, if you're not overly worried by a few little incongruities, the story is fascinating (and scary - more for its depiction of China, and what China's growing economy means for the rest of the world in the future, than for the actual criminal acts that are ostensibly being investigated).

Four stars for the story; two stars for the technicalities.

The Wings of the Sphinx by Andrea Camilleri

The Wings of the Sphinx by Andrea Camilleri

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


It might have been that the plot was more contrived; or the antics not so funny; perhaps even the translation wasn't up-to-the-usual.

Or it might have been that I was on a camping weekend with a bunch of home beer-makers, and there was much sampling of product.

In any case, I didn't find this quite as enjoyable as the usual Camilleri. Generally, I love Camilleri – and the wonderful translations by Stephen Sartarelli – but this one didn't really click with me.

Stone Rain by Linwood Barclay

Stone Rain by Linwood Barclay




Won't read, won't rate...

Which is disappointing, since I've enjoyed Barclay's other books.

First, we have a married couple working for a metropolitan newspaper where he reports directly to her. I'm sure it happens, but not often, because employers of any size don't let spouses report to each other – it's a recipe for disaster. Then, we have the managing director forcing the reporter to give up his sources and notes to a senior reporter: I'm certain that almost never happens, because you can't keep employees if you treat them that way. Finally, when we reached the point where she is prepared to sacrifice their relationship for a promotion – which I'm certain does happen – I decided I wasn't interested enough in the characters to read the story.

Cast in Courtlight by Michelle Sagara

Cast in Courtlight by Michelle Sagara

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Not your usual police procedural. This is a Young Adult Fantasy with a Mystery plot.

I was a little trepidacious when I read Sagara's  own comment that the book had intended to focus on the Barrani court but had ended up investigating the relationship between Kaylin and Severn. "Ack! Another YA romance!" Fortunately, it didn't really turn out that way. It didn't turn out that way to such an extent that I can't figure out why the author felt she had to mention it...

While I'm not thrilled by Sagara's writing, I am thrilled by the story. I love the mix of fantasy and mystery. Given that they're two of the three main genres that I read, it's a natural fit for me. I enjoy the views of the different races, and their politics (of which we see much, despite Kaylin's professed dislike of politics), and hope to see more of the other races as the series continues.

Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan

Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A marvelous first novel. This review said "If  Michael Connelly had put Detective Bosch in space (and cyberspace) he may have ended up with something like Altered Carbon (if he is lucky)", which was a significant selling feature for me, and it lived up to its billing.

Be warned, it's not just a detective novel – it's pretty good high-tech science fiction.

On top of an excellent mystery, great action, and fascinating characters, Morgan takes a thoughtful and thought-provoking look at both interstellar empire and the nature of "self".