Marie Claude Gagnon
I received this book for free in exchange for a review from Mysteries & Crime Thrillers
Rating : 3,5 *
Being a woman has never been easy, but being a woman, living alone with one's sisters, on an isolated farm in 1915, becomes even more complicated for Constance Kopp.
After a young, rich and belligerent silk factory owner hit their buggy with his motor car, the Kopp sisters bill him for damages. What should have been a simple manner of reimbursing them 50$ for the reparation turns into a year of kidnapping threats, flying bullets and cops camping in the sisters' barn. To convict the culprit and his accomplices, the sheriff recruits Constance in the investigation. Along the way, a chance encounter forces Constance to confront a family secret and face their uncertain financial future.
Based on true events, this novel introduces us to Constance Kopp, US's first female deputy sheriff. She is depicted as a strong and stubborn woman who is determined to get reparation from the gang who recklessly damaged their buggy. After all, why should she accept another resolution than a man would! Her interactions with other characters illustrate clearly society's expectations about “simple woman” and how she should act. The well-meaning, but oh so patronizing, “isn't there a brother or an uncle who can take care of you?” question, asked more than once in the novel, is evidence of the place women occupied in society.
Even if a little stereotypical, Constance, Norma and Fleurette Kopp take life in this novel. Norma, dependable and more conservative has a passion for pigeons, and Fleurette, childish and a little spoiled likes to design and sew new clothes. After some time, I felt like I could predict how they would react to new situations. Other secondary characters, such as the sheriff, are also well-fleshed and coherent. In fact, the less detailed characters are the villains of the book. Obviously, the author did not want to spend much time with them, or the documents she used did not offer more information about them. The gang felt like an ominous and ill-defined presence throughout the book, which was a really effective way to transmit the oppressive feeling felt by the sisters to the reader.
I came to this book without knowing it was based on true events (in fact I discovered this information in the postface of the book). So, I was expecting a fast-paced story, with a gun-bearing too-modern heroin. What I discovered instead was a slow-paced book based more on the ambiance and social dynamics of the era than the action of the story. It was for me a good and a bad surprise: good because I took away a lot more from this book than I would have from a “simple” mystery, but also bad because some sections seemed to lag a little.
All in all, I thought it was a good portrait of an era and of an exceptional woman and the circumstances that helped her show the world who she was and that she would not sit back and take the beating in silence. Constance Kopp is a model that should be known and followed by many young, and less young, ladies nowadays.
I so wanted to love that book, and it soooo missed the mark!
Someone named Kinsey Millhone, but who doesn't share that much resemblance with the character we love, is obviously trying to find things to do now that she does not have to work as hard as she used to after she inherited money in the previous book. Three stories are told throughout the book, none of which really interesting, but more importantly, none of which demonstrating any detecting talent in Kinsey. In fact, in some occasions, I really had the impression she was new on the job and naive...
And the end... not only it left me unsatisfied, but I could have done without the little morale speech...
I will probably read the next one since I have been a fan of Kinsey for over 20 years now, and that I have been happily surprised by a book in the series following a disappointing book. Let's hope Y will do the same for me :)
This is the kind of book you should read as a teenager, and then later on in life. Up here in Québec, this book rarely appears on mandatory or recommended reading in school, so I did not get to it for a really looooong time. I saw the movie in my late twenties, and kept telling myself I should read the book. I finally got to it, right in the middle of the noise around its “sequel” (which I have no intention of reading)...
I enjoyed reading Scout's voice and perception of the world around her and all that adults say or don't say around kids. Now I have to put this book in my daughters' hands (one is 22 the other 17) to be able to discuss it with them :)
Bonne présentation de l'autisme, et plus précisément le type d'autisme connu autrefois sous le nom de syndrome d'Asperger. Le personnage de Ludovic nous parle directement et vit ses forces et difficultés sans compromis. Portrait sensible et plein de tendresse, je le conseille aux jeunes et moins jeunes qui ont un ami ou un proche ayant reçu un tel diagnostic ou tout simplement pour mieux connaître ce monde fascinant.
I so wanted to love that book since I enjoyed the movie. I was waiting for more connections between the stories, to better understand what I did not in the movie... but no! It didn't happen. But what happened was I enjoyed a couple of storylines and had to find ways to keep me awake during others.
If Mitchell wanted to show that people are linked and that more things change more they are the same, he could have done it in way less than 500 pages!
Meg's grandfather has hired a private detective to find his long lost lover and Meg's grandmother. But, he's sadly too late, she had been murdered, just a few months ago. Her surviving cousin requests the detective and Meg to find the murdered in exchange of information about the family.
This new installment has funny moments, like other books in the series, but also runs deeper into emotions and family sentiments that other books. I had to dry my eyes a couple of times... I enjoy this series, but, as a mother, I always catch myself thinking that Meg is pretty absent from her sons' lives, at least when mystery calls! She's lucky to have a big extended family who's always ready to take care of her kids and stuff! ;o)
Disclaimer: I received this book through the Goodreads Giveaways program
Une anthologie de Taniguchi ne peut qu'être une bonne nouvelle. Entre les histoires racontant un quotidien qui, je soupçonne est très proche du vécu de l'auteur, et d'autres qui nous racontent les aventures d'Amérindiens ou de chercheurs d'or dans l'immensité du nord ouest américain, il y en a pour tous les goûts.
Personnellement, je préfère ses histoires douces du Japon de ses jeunes années, découpées comme de la dentelle. Ces histoires ne me laissent jamais indifférente, mais souvent les yeux un peu humides.
This book has many qualities, but enough faults to get 3*...
I really enjoyed the setting: Italy during and after WWII. The Germans are trying to resist the advance of the Allies, and to do this, all means necessary are taken, even pillaging and killing those that are supposed to be their allies, the Italians. In the middle of all this, the Rosati family tries to survive and will pay the ultimate price, first during the war, and then ten years later when a killer stars attacking the survivors.
Sophie is a criminal law attorney. When no divorce lawyer is available to meet a big client, she finds herself stuck with the case. She's far from being at ease, having gone through her parents' divorce. But maybe another kind of lawyer is exactly what was needed in this divorce...
The story is entirely told through letters, emails, articles, decisions and other types of documents. Even though it could make the story hard to follow, I thought that it was successful in that book. I felt like I had learned a lot about Sophie, her parents, friends and colleagues, Mia (the divorcing client), her daughter Jane and the ex-husband. It was an easy and fast read. The back cover presented the book as funny; I did not laugh a lot, but was entertained anyways.
Disclaimer: I received the book through the Giveaways program.
Ichmad finds himself the head of his family when he is only 12 years old. Living in village under occupation by the Israeli, his only hope is to study and help his family reaching for a better future.
I won this book through Goodreads Giveaways program and I'm really happy it got me to read it, since I would probably not have done otherwise. This book broke my heart, kept me up way too late at night and was my companion on this sick day at home. I loved that book! The story of Ichmad and his family is a good illustration of the horrors of the conflicts between Israeli and Palesticians, but also shows that cooperation and mind-openness may still bring good in the world, even in these parts of the world. I hope Ichmad's and Menachem's dream becomes true someday soon!
Chet is not only a dog, he's Bernie's partner at the Little detective agency. And more importantly he's the narrator of the story.
Having a dog telling the story makes for an interesting ride: he doesn't understand everything, falls asleep during conversations and have his own set of priorities. And then there's the problem of communicating with humans. Because Chet is not the kind of dog who can read, uses morse code to communicate or other humanizations that can be often found in books where an animal investigates.
I really enjoyed that book and will read the next hoping this was not only the novelty of the tone that hooked me. Seeing how people talked about the author at Bouchercon, I guess it was not just a fluke.
I received this book at Bouchercon 2013 where I had the pleasure of meeting the author.
Loved the book and the characterization. It was particularly interesting to see people from different cultures meeting each other in a setting so different from the one I know.
I look forward to read other books from this author.
In this chapter of the Harris family's story, murder strikes a little too close to home, since the victim is the ex-fiance of the hero's daughter Laura. When Laura herself becomes the target of the murderer's attacks, there's no way Charlie and Diesel will stay on the sidelines...
Like most cozy mysteries, this is an easy and entertaining read. I enjoy this series, particularly because of the relationship the humans share with Diesel, a really “talkative” cat who has always an important part in the investigation. But be reassured, this is not the kind of cat who can read books and give clues. He has instinct and the trust of his humans. In fact, he reminds me a lot of my first cat; he “talked” a lot, comforted me when I was sad, and I could trust his instinct about people...
I had never read any steampunk, but it's not my last book in that sub-genre I can tell you.
Eliza Braun and Wellington Books, esquire are agents of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, but really different kinds of agents: Braun is an active field agent and Books is an archivist. But they unite to solve the mystery of why dead bodies, missing skin, blood or even bones, are found around London.
Phoenix Rising is an adventure set in Victorian London and were Eliza carries more weapons than a soldier and Wellington surprises his partner with his inventions.
I gave it 4*
Charlie D is back for this 4th installment in the series. This time, the action takes place on Valentine's day night and Charlie's guest is an ex-escort to discuss love and relationship, paid or not. The subject is charged for a lot of callers and for the killer.
The book is an easy and fast read which renders it a good for adults learning a second language or having difficulties reading.
This was my first Jaine Austen mystery, but surely not the last. When her cat Prozac causes the death of the local witch's (or rather the actress who played one on tv) parrot, Jaine finds herself in a lot of troubles. Troubles that get even bigger when the witch is found dead. And, since it seems that it is not enough problems, she enters into a bet with her neighbor Lance to find out which of them will get a date with the new beau of the neighborhood. Throughout the books, there are funny “comments” from Prozac and emails from Jaine's parents. It was a funny and easy read.
In a Winter Kill, Vicky Delany tells the story of rookie constable Nicole Patterson, back in her natal county, and her investigation in the murder of a young high school student. The victim being born on the wrong of the track and having a reputation for sleeping around, the fingers immediately point to the father as the killer. Even though she is not part of the investigation team, Nicole soon asks questions to students and others who knew the victim.
I read the book in one seating; it was a fast and easy read. Which is, for a book part of the “Fast Reads” collection a good thing. Naturally, such a short book does not allow for a lot of character development and twists and turns in the plot, but I thought that Vicky Delany did a good job in keeping the interest in the story and characters. I would recommend this book to occasional readers and those learning English.
“The Killer Is Dying” intertwines the stories of three persons: a killer for hire, a detective whose wife is dying and a boy living by himself after his parents left.
The three characters are linked but they never meet. The idea of the book was really interesting and could have given a great book.
Sadly, that's not what happened.. At the start of each chapter it was often confusing and hard to distinguish the character it was about. It may even take a few paragraphs before it becomes clear. But for me, the worst part was that all along I was waiting for something to happen, really happen. But at the end, the solution to the mystery is told, not shown. Detectives might be used to it, but this mystery reader does not like it.