Try to Catch "Catch Me"

I have been out of town for about a week. While at a conference, I read the advance reader's copy of Catch Me by Lisa Gardner. I have to be in a certain mood to read Gardner because she tends to be fairly gritty. The summary of this book made me think it might be grittier than usual and it was but I picked it up and could not put it down again. The main character, Charlie Grant, a 28 year old police dispatcher, believes she will be killed on Jan 21st. She convinces D.D. Warren, one of Gardner's returning characters, that she just might be right. This book deals with child abuse in a major way and that is one of the reasons I was unsure about reading it but once I read the first few pages, I was hooked for good. The characters remain in your head days after you put it down. It is the type of book where you continue wanting to read it after you are done, you want to know what happens next. I highly recommend this book that will be out on Feb 7, 2012. The library has lots of copies so reserve it now. I'm hoping that we will see Charlie Grant in a future book by Gardner.

Southern Literary Suspense - is that a genre?

Bret Lott is known as an author of literary novels, short stories and as the editor of The Southern Review. He was born in California but has made himself into a South Carolinian. You wouldn't consider him as an author who writes thrillers, but back in 1997, he wrote The Hunt Club. In this title he follows Huger Dillard, a 15 year old young man who comes of age in the story. Huger helps his blind uncle run the Hunt Club where the wealthy come to drink and pretend to hunt. There is a murder and there is suspense but generally this is a tale of growing up. In many ways, The Hunt Club is more about family, characters and people in general..

Coming next week, Lott revisits the Charleston lowcountry area with Huger and ‘Unc” in  Dead Low Tide. Huger, now a young man, and 'Unc" find a dead body while out on a golf course. Unc likes to practice his golf swing at night when others can't see him. Huger who has become pretty much a slacker since his traumatic adventure in the previous novel, is spurred to action as the 27 year old is forced to care. Lott’s work in-between these two books were literary in bent but he obviously missed the plotting elements of suspense. Lott is still a character driven author but these two titles are good southern literary suspense novels.

British Mysteries - An Aquired Taste?

British Mysteries – an acquired taste?

You have a choice this month between reading a British mystery by an English author (Robert Barnard) or a British mystery by an American mother and son team (Charles Todd).  Other than the fact that they both take place in Britain, they can be considered completely different in almost every other way.

Robert Barnard has written 40 mysteries under his own name. One of his series features Charlie Peace of the West Yorkshire CID. His title this month, A Charitable Body, features this detective. Barnard’s stories are almost cozies with intricate plots and witty repartee. This particular title, the ninth in the series, while not his best work, provides red herrings, upstairs-downstairs upsets, and an old-fashioned mystery that will appeal to those who enjoyed reading Agatha Christie. A manor house is turned over to the National Trust and a body is found in the pond. Who could it be? Charlie Peace is determined to find out and luckily his wife is on the board.

Charles Todd’s series feature an upper-class Scotland Yard detective, Ian Rutledge, who came back shell-shocked from World War I.  The entry in this series this month is the 14^th, The Confession. This series is historical and suspenseful, they rely more on characters than plots although the plots are compelling and often moving. This time a walk-in man, Wyatt Russell, informs them that he is dying of cancer but killed his cousin 5 years earlier in 1915. Rutledge investigates his claim in his home village but two week later, someone kills Russell. Rutledge must now puzzle out who would kill and dying man while wrestling with his own demons. A really great read for those who enjoy historical mysteries. They (mother and son) manage to get just the right historical atmosphere.

Looking for a ‘good guy’ detective?

Your search is over. Jack Fredrickson has penned the third in a series featuring Vlodek Elstrom. Dek started his career in A Safe Place for Dying. Dek is an ingratiating character who has wit and courage. At one time, he was married to a multimillionaire. Then his reputation was trashed, his business ruined and his marriage ended. In his first title, he investigates a threatening letter that was sent to the gated community where he lived when he was married. Then, a mansion is blown up and Dek becomes his own best subject. Very entertaining reading.

His second adventure is reported in Honestly Dearest, You’re Dead. In this offering, Dek is named the executor of a woman’s estate. He has never met her to his knowledge and her estate is worth only a couple of hundred dollars but he takes the job when he is offered $700. What he finds is a killer and a mystery. Dek is just as engaging or even more so. The characters are interesting and well formed and the plot is interest grabbing. A enjoyable read.

Now in February, Fredrickson is coming out with his third entry in the series, Hunting Sweetie Rose. A clown falls (?) off a rooftop and a fat man in a long limousine hires Dek to investigate. Dek connects the death to Chicago socialite and philanthropist Sweetie Fairbairn. Suddenly, Sweetie is nowhere to be found. Dek is nothing if not determined.  Dek is still the good guy that he was in the first 2 titles. This is bound to be a good read.

Slight twist for P.D. James

P.D. James is better known for her Adam Dalgleish series about a Scotland Yard detective who writes poetry on the side. She also is in her 90's. You would not think it would be time for her to make a change. James, however, decided not to write another Dalgleish novel as she says she could not bear leaving it unfinished if she should die. Instead, she decided to indulge herself in another love, Jane Austen novels. Death Comes to Pemberley visits Elizabeth Bennet and Darcy after they have been married for 6 years. They are living on Darcy's estate with two sons when Elizabeth's sister arrives in extreme distress talking about her husbands murder. With James, place often becomes another character in the story and Pemberley is no exception. She is able to retain Austen's feeling of the characters while introducing mystery and intrigue. A very interesting read for those who like British mysteries or those who are Jane Austen fans. It feels like coming home to a familiar place.

New York Times 10 Best Books of 2012

The New York Times recently released their annual 10 best books of the year. Five of the titles are fiction and five are nonfiction. I am excited because 3 of the five fiction titles would have made my top list also. The three I really enjoyed are:
The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach - a first novel and one that I have talked about on the blog.
Swamplandia by Karen Russell - another first novel. I have not included this title on the blog because I had a feeling I liked it so much because I have lived in Southwest Florida not too far from the hypothetical island where this novel takes place. It is the story of a young girl trying to hold together her family after their mother's death. Now her family is nothing if not unique and most would say quirky. They have been running an alligator theme park on one of the many islands off the west coast of the Everglades. I'm excited that other people thought it was as good as I did.
11/22/63 by Stephen King - another title I have included in the blog. I have to admit, I like Stephen King's work. I'm not a big horror reader but I really look on his work as magnificent tales of good against evil. I just finished listening to one of King's earlier works which HBO has made into a miniseries, Bag of Bones. It was just as fascinating to me and I hope the miniseries does it justice.

The remaining two that I have to admit I have not read are:
Ten Thousand Saints by Eleanor Henderson - This is a coming of age story for several characters that moves from small town Vermont to New York City. The reviews on Good Reads are either really strong or not that great. Apparently, the characters are very well drawn and for those that like character driven novels is hard to put down.
The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht - I'm not sure I am going to attempt this one. It is some say magic realism and others say well written but boring. A young woman returns to the Balkans to investigate her grandfather's death. This story is interwoven with legends with long descriptions of places, objects and events.

All five titles are available in the catalog. Enjoy!

Best Mysteries of 2011 - Part 2 AND Sister by Rosamund Lupton

                      

         

I've got 5 more titles to complete the best mystery list and an endorsement for a title I am listening to in my car.

6) British author S. J. Bolton has written, 'Now You See Me', a comtemporary gothic about a female police officer who is taunted by a serial murderer who is intent on copying Jack the Ripper. It is fast paced and suspenseful with graphic historical details.

7) Colin Cotterill, who has written a series featuring a Laotian coroner, has begun a new series featuring a young, female journalist. 'Killed at the Whim of a Hat' takes place in southern Thailand. It is slow starting but picks up speed with humor. Jimm Juree, the journalist, and her family will have you looking for more.

8)Craig Johnson has added another title to the Walt Longmire series, 'Hell is Empty'. Walt is chasing an escaped killer through snow covered mountains in Wyoming. Johnson adds allusions to Dantes' Inferno and Indian mysticism to a hard driving, suspenseful plot. This seventh in the series could be his best.

9)G.M. Malliet, of CID St. Just fame (i.e. Death of a Cozy Writer), is starting a new series with 'Wicked Autumn'. This series is featuring an ex-M15 agent who has become a small village vicar. How is that for a change of pace? While Max Tudor is looking for peace, what he finds is murder. Malliet uses her sense of humor, good pacing and interesting characters to make this a good cozy read.

10) Craig Morton's first novel, 'Stealing Mona Lisa', is a fictionalized account of the actual 1911 theft of the famous painting. The story is intricately plotted and the historical details accurate. A fun read for history buffs.

 

I spend quite a bit of time in my car. The radio gets old after a while, particularly when I go on trips. I have always turned to books on cd when I am getting ready to spend more than an hour driving. Over the holiday, I took a trip to Florida and New Orleans. While driving, I started to listen to Sister by Rosamund Lupton. I don't know how I missed it when it first came out this summer. Lupton writes this novel in the form of a letter from an older sister to her dead younger sibling. She explains all her thoughts and reactions to finding out Tess, the younger, was missing and then found with her wrists slashed. While the police and the rest of the family believe this a suicide. Bea, the letter writer, is sure it was murder. Very suspenseful, very well written, an enjoyable experience. I highly recommend it if you missed it.