Work for Idle Hands: Books in July

Friday July 31, 2015

Extraordinary People by Peter May
I started reading "The Critic" then decided it was better to read these Enzo Files in order - as there is a planned sequence of books right from the start (he's still working on the last one).. It has a whole different flavour compared with the Lewis trilogy - and lacks the poignancy. As a murder mystery it's a high quality offering but it seems to me that the writing for the Lewis trilogy moved on with much more of an underlying emotional thread, and this went even further with Entry Island. When I am done with Enzo, I look forward to the China thrillers.

The Orion Book of Murder edited by Peter Haining
This is an omnibus of short stories - written prior to 1996 which is when this collection was put together.
The stories are collected in three genres: Crime, Detection, Punishment. Many well-known authors of the time are featured (Ruth Rendell, Graham Greene, Ngaio Marsh, Colin Dexter, Reginald Hill, Ellery Queen, Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, Ellis Peters and PD James) as well as some equally famous but from a much earlier era. Before each story the editor talks about the author, their era, and the detectives they created.
Peter Haining has also done other similar books, one of which I mentioned in BOM May 2012.

The Woods by Harlan Coben [read by Carol Monda and David Chandler]
Relieved to find this did not follow the same theme I previously observed.... though we were revisiting history, and this was interesting to me as it was history from my youth as well as the characters portrayed.
I like the narration by two voices, and in fact I felt a lot of empathy for the female character as it seemed to me the great sin she had committed - despite the dire consequences - was not in itself such a terrible thing. However I can understand the subsequent burden of guilt - and here Coben expressly states another of his underlying beliefs that you should face up to your "indiscretions of youth", and take the consequences however bad or unfair that may turn out for you - and it is what you do after that which shows what kind of a person you really are.

The Murder Bag by Tony Parsons [read by Colin Mace]
This was another random download from the library on the basis it sounded interesting (as it proved to be).
However I had to do a double take, because, yes this is the Tony Parsons - he of About a Boy et al - apparently venturing into a detective novel. I thought it was all a bit touchy/feeley for a police procedural - but excellent nonetheless. Already looking forward to the next one... [The Slaughter Man out in May this year].

Posted by Christina at 8:46 AM. Category: Books of the Month