Joseph Zizza
Another excellent entry in this series, which begs the question: why isn't it better known? Great characters, convoluted mystery, great London backgrounds. A mystery to me why they aren't more popular.
This book surprised me. I didn't expect a story so completely absorbed in the emotions and thoughts of its characters. It spends the vast majority of its 579 pages inside the head of one or another of its many characters: the middle-aged Latin teacher, the deranged mystic, the young arrival from Guernsey, the passionate fisherman, and several others. Powys never seems to put a foot wrong in his exploration of their thinking and it doesn't ring a false note. But, like his idol Thomas Hardy, Powys does have the tendency to go off on a tangent and spend paragraphs, even pages, declaiming his mystical views. This is sometimes absorbing, sometimes dull, very occasionally cringe-worthy. But in the end, I read it with an absorption and at a pace I've rarely experienced. Not for all tastes, but a significant accomplishment.
Entertaining thriller with hints of supernatural, of a piece with this writer's other works. Well-plotted but a bit plodding in delivery
If you see novels as having two aspects, conception and execution, this is one of two very different natures. The concept, a killer haunted (literally) by the people he killed, and seeking redemption, is both familiar and unoriginal. The execution, however, is quite well-handled, and is believable all the way through, even with the slightly bum note towards the end. I will definitely try another Neville book, as this one shows great promise. I'd like to see what he can do with a less familiar situation, especially as he overcame my initial disappointment with the core concept.
Banville published the first six Quirke novels under the pseudonym Benjamin Black, but has put his real name to this and its predecessor, Snow. I enjoyed this a lot, largely because it makes no effort to be a typical crime or suspense novel. The vaunted stylist, who won a Booker prize for The Sea, seems unwilling or incapable of organising his story to generate tension, but he does make a slyly compelling narrative out of three threads that finally come together at the end. I will read Snow and maybe even an earlier Banville.
Engrossing, gripping and well-paced, this is a prime example of why so many writers think highly of John D MacDonald. I read most of the Travis McGee when I was young, but only recently started reading his non-series novels. They are tougher, grittier and less romantic. This one I can recommend quite highly.
How does this novel have such a good reputation? Contrived, dull, with no character development and unlikable people doing foolish and stupid things, screwing up their own and other people's lives. Pretentious and pompous pontifications from a benighted fool of an author. Several hours of my life I will never get back. Rubbish.
What a pointless book. Meanders for 350 pages then the client dies, making the case–and the book–without purpose. There are far better ways to spend a few evenings, including watching paint dry.
Weak, belated sequel to the very entertaining Trent's Last Case. Completely lacks the sparkle of that book, constantly going off on tangents both unrelated to the “case” and uninteresting to this reader. The denouement is unconvincing and staged in a ludicrous way. The book felt dated in a way that transcended its period setting, and left the impression that it would have felt dated even in 1936. It is hard to say whether the participation of co-author Walter Allen helped or hindered, but there is an unevenness of tone which betrays the dual authorship. Some of it was entertaining but it was never sustained beyond short bursts. Very disappointing to a big fan of Trent's Last Case.
Dreary, dated and lame, this “thriller” is a lacking in both narrative drive and credibility from the start. Set in two unnamed Eastern European countries in the 70's, it features a totalitarian country where everything is “District 33” and Town “N” and Road 132. Felt like a seventies British TV show. Dull and lifeless. Anderson's Inspector Wilkins pastiches of Golden Age mysteries were fun, but this is below even the Murder She Wrote novelizations he did. Dreadful.
Silly, but fun. Deftly handled by SJ Bennett, this ludicrous concept comes alive, is enjoyable and provides insight into inner workings at Windsor Castle as well as an entertaining mystery. Totally silly, but I recommend it.
This was pleasantly unexpected Why is it some writers are famous after their heyday and others aren't? Farjeon was celebrated in the late “Golden Age”, praised by other mystery novelists of the day, and sold well. Now he's all but forgotten. And until this British Crime Library edition, I was unaware of his existence. This is entertaining, psychologically astute, and very well-structured. Add in a likeable and engaging protagonist and you have a fun and thoroughly enjoyable mystery. Highly recommended. More Farjeon in my future.
Suspenseful, well-written, mostly credible thriller based on two of the most unlikely coincidences in any fiction I've read. The coincidences are very hard to swallow on their own, but together they make the whole thing untenable. It's a pity, because the story is well executed and this would be a decent novel without them, and in my opinion, might have worked with only one of them. Cannot recommend this.
I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand I found it a very absorbing and credible story about two “social creatures” in NY in 2015. Unvarnished and un-sensational–not easy to do. I went back to it eagerly and enjoyed it. On the other hand, it built to a sense of a revelatory ending, and then went in an entirely different direction. I would give it 3.5 stars if I could, but the accomplishment outweighs my misgivings about the ending. Kudos to Tara Isabella Burton.
It's been an article of faith with me for several years that female mystery/crime writers are often under-rated, so it wasn't really a surprise that Dolores Hitchens was another example of this. That a novel with “cat” in the title wouldn't be insufferably “cosy” was a surprise. The cat does feature in the story, in an unusual way, but it's Rachel Murdock and Lieutenant Mayhew who are the mismatched pair who make this so much fun. It is cosy, but not insufferably so, as there are plenty of unpleasant characters and situations. I am likely to read another of these eventually.
This my third Jefferson Farjeon novel, the other two being Thirteen Guest and The Z Murders, and this was a bit of a letdown. I was really enjoying it until the last 40 or 50 pages, when we had a very dreary and dull diary extract, which flew in the face of the atmosphere and breezy storytelling of the previous 200 pages. Good plot, interesting characters and a slightly disappointing denouement.
I found this curiously unsatisfying. While it was clearly attempting to work on more than one level, the only level which came across effectively for me was the obvious one of description of a period in Italian history and the way life was for the people in this poor mountainous southern area of Italy. I was not swept away by the imagery and the emotional drama, and was left with a strangely unaffecting depiction of a way of life, which was sad and despairing but somehow lacked resonance as being about real people. I did find the tone to be downbeat and hopeless???and effectively so???but did not feel engaged or moved.
This falls a bit short of Hiaasen's standard. Overlong and more importantly, wore out its welcome, as his his hobby horses get ridden until they are run into the ground. But it's still entertaining and fun.
Great world-building, interesting characters, some very unexpected events and a strong story, all undermined slightly by what I thought was a weak ending. But I went through it at a pace, drawn in by all the above positive attributes. Rarely do I find I want to know more about a character, but that applied to a few here. I had previously read the first Mistborn trilogy, which started out brilliantly and faded by the third book, so I did not have high expectations. But I am reconsidering Sanderson, and casting my eye over his considerable ouevre, looking for a likely next choice.
A fascinating and irreverent take on superheroes as people–flawed, aging and all-too-human. Quite modern in its outlook and influential on the way the superhero has been portrayed since.
Entertaining and meandering second book in the Kingkiller Chronicles. The adventures of Kvothe range far and wide, and leave him with more questions than answers. Funny, exciting, and always full of the unexpected, this volume will not disappoint lovers of The Name of the Wind. I am very much looking forward to the final volume, which is due sometime before the end of the decade.
I thought this was a near masterpiece. Short, with few wasted words, but a strong and well-delivered message about the absence of innocence (or common guilt, perhaps) in any of us, told from the point of view of an unsympathetic and self-loathing (while still vain and self-admiring) narrator who speaks to an unseen listener, who can therefore be any of us. His tale is stark but somehow very real and believable, and resonated as a reflection of contemporary times despite being over 50 years old. Camus had the ability to be philosophical without using overtly philosophical methods, and I f=ind that very attractive. The character is real, feels like flesh and blood, but is also a symbol and a mouthpiece. Powerful and economical and impressive.
Funny, frightening and horribly real, this is a masterful satire of a culture which has lost its moorings. Brilliant.
Solid and unusual entry in this classic series. Multiple murders and a bit of action to liven things up.