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Tuesday February 28, 2023
Books in February
- I Will Find You by Harlan Coben
Harlan Coben has an excellent track record writing best sellers, so really it is almost superfluous to say how thrilling his books are, with dramatic twists and turns throughout. I've read several of his stand-alone novels and this is another star performance. I should say I have liked some of his books more than others - specifically: I'm personally less keen on his basketball themed series since I find that subject a bit esoteric (much I suspect as the Americans in general regard cricket). However, I really enjoyed this book; I found it pacy an hard to put down (no basketball in sight).
It's worth warning that the plot is written from the point of view a man jailed for the violent murder of his own child some years before. He is mentally too numb to protest his innocence, and so traumatised by the situation that he has accepted his prison sentence with a burden of guilt for not being able to protect his son. But then he is shown a photograph... which changes everything...
The mystery part of the plot is skillfully executed, allowing the reader to piece together the solution -possibly slightly ahead of the protagonist - at the pace the author intends. And finally, if, like me, you enjoy a well-rounded ending - I would say happy ending but that's always less easy with this underlying subject matter - then you will be well-satisfied here.
If this is your first Coben thriller, then it's a great place to start - and if not, you'll find it well up to his excellent standard.
- Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi [read by Emilia Fox]
I was absolutely delighted by the basic premise of this book.
Grant McAllister, was a renowned professor of mathematics and writer 30 years ago, but is now living in seclusion on a remote Mediterranean island. He developed a theory that all detective fiction could be expressed as a mathematical formula based on "n" detectives, and "n" suspects, which can be applied to all stories, barring those where "n" tends towards 1 - which are special cases. He wrote a series of seven stories illustrating the various combinations of "n" - and these short stories form the basis of this book.
Our story is taken up when Grant is approached by Julia, a young editor, who apparently wants to republish his book. She works through each story with the author (and with us), pointing out apparently intentional anomalies and discussing their relevance, each in some detail... but Julia has her own agenda for this project, and nothing is as it seems.
The stories are presented with multiple alternative endings, which some readers said they found confusing. However, as I said, I loved all this, and I found the overarching mystery quite compelling.
[Note that this book is also published under the title The Eighth Detective.] -
The Shadows of London by Andrew Taylor
The is the latest in the Ashes of London series, and if you have not encountered it before, you are in for a treat.
I came upon this author and the Marwood-Lovett novels by a chance reading of a review in the Guardian - and what a terrific find they are. Taylor's ideas for the mysteries are excellent, always including fascinating historical insights, and all executed with the aplomb of a brilliant historian and writer. They are set in the era of Charles II after the Restoration, which provides an interesting political landscape. I know a little of this period, having studied it at school, and it is tempting to imagine that life in the 17th century is in some way modern though only a mere century or so after the Tudors - an age of enlightenment, scientific discovery, and elegance in both dress and manners. However Taylor really highlights many other less appealing aspects life with a need for constant wariness against casual assault and robbery, or offending the wrong person in a time of heavy dependence on patronage; add to that: primitive medical treatments, and a general level of poor hygiene, which, despite the huge rebuilding programme in London after the Great Fire, was not really addressed until two centuries later with the creation of the London sewer network.
This story involves a "simple" murder of "no-one in particular", but it affects Cat's business enterprises so negatively, and she is forced unwillingly to involve James to represent her interests in an attempt to resolve the matter. The many threads that his enquiry throws up lead to a political conspiracy involving the King himself - and needless to say, with Taylor, it has some basis in historical fact.
In addition to the story-lines, I am strong drawn to the depiction of protagonists with their, in one way loose, bonds of friendship and yet deep underlying connection and mutual dependence. So far, Taylor has managed to walk a difficult tightrope of maintaining that unspoken relationship without turning them into Tommy and Tuppence - but their relationship is shifting and developing with every book, so who knows what the next book will bring. (I, for one, can't wait!).
If you enjoy skillfully written historical mysteries you will love this series.
Posted by Christina at 9:32 AM. Category: Books of the Month
