It’s a short month, so short titles were the order of the day in February. Preferably one-word, no more than two; and even then, only if we found something that fitted the bill which we actually wanted to read.
Despite all these caveats, we still managed to chat about sixteen books at our meeting, so we’ve split our report in two to make it readable. This is Part One, authors A-G from our selection.
Titles available from Oundle Library or the e-Library are marked with an asterisk and our choices are listed alphabetically by author.
Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Ace Atkins*
An entertaining comic crime novel, set in 1985 in Atlanta, USA. Peter is a young teen, whose mother is dating a man Peter suspects is a Russian spy. His mother works at Scientific Atlanta, a laboratory that has a lot of big government contracts and when one of her colleagues is murdered, Pete recruits some friends to help him find out what’s going on – a couple of schoolfriends, a middle-aged washed-up crime novelist, and a drag performer named Jackie Demure! The murder is also being investigated by the FBI and alongside that there’s a Russian hitman on the loose, a Russian defector arriving in town, and Reagan and Gorbachev are preparing for a nuclear summit in Geneva. This was a slapstick story that was great fun to read and Cornish Eskimo gave it 4 Stars.
Vengeance by R.C. Bridgestock*
A police procedural set in Yorkshire, which opens with two members of a family being shot down on the church steps at a family wedding. The shooter is disarmed and detained by the wedding guests, but there’s no easy explanation for what he’s done and things are further complicated when forensics show there must have been two gunmen operating. DI Charley Mann and her team have to act quickly, especially when information comes to light of a link to feuding drug-dealing gangs in Manchester. MadDog enjoyed this, saying it was well written and kept her fully engaged trying to unravel the clues. 3+ Stars.
The Shadow by Ajay Chowdhury*
Ex-detective Kamil Rahman is asked by his former boss to go to India to investigate the murder of a British engineer, who was found with 18 arrows stuck in his body. In Mumbai, Kamil goes to stay with an old friend – an extremely wealthy and successful businessman, who believes his family is under an ancient curse. As more murders are committed and Kamil investigates, he also gets wrapped up in trying to help break his friend’s curse. Pussycat said the descriptions of India are evocative and both plotlines are handled cleverly. Chowdhury’s style is light and entertaining, so this is easy to read and it’s a good mystery. She closed her report saying: “Think death and revenge. The key thing to take away from this is never to turn your back on people you think you know!” 4+ Stars.
The Proving Ground by Michael Connelly*
The latest in the Lincoln Lawyer (Mickey Haller) series and a very topical story. Haller is back in court and up against an AI company, whose Chatbot (which is marketed as a companion for children and young teens) had encouraged a 16-year-old boy to murder his ex-girlfriend. The girl’s mother has taken them to court, asking for a public apology, a reassurance that they will improve their product, and some damages as well. They are fighting tooth-and-nail because they are preparing to be bought-up by a giant tech company and cannot afford to have their product smeared. This is an almost pure courtroom drama and, as usual, Connelly’s writing is skilful and assured, building the case piece by piece and showing the adversarial nature of the American justice system. Freyja said all the characters come to life and it was a riveting read. She loved it and awarded 4+ Stars.
The Cruise by Catherine Cooper*
Northumberland Gal listened to this as an e-audiobook. The story is told by a number of different people, across a number of different timelines, and there are a number of deaths, so it was quite hard to follow. And as the title suggests, the bulk of the novel is set on a cruise ship but while it is on layover in dock rather than at sea. Listening to this, it took a while to work out how all the characters and threads were connected, but it was still enjoyable with lots of twists and turns. You just need to concentrate! 3 Stars.
Unknown by Heather Critchlow*
Book 4 in the Cal Lovett series, by an author Pussycat had never read before. Set in Scotland it’s a dual-timeline novel involving a 20-year-old unsolved mystery and a present-day missing person’s case. Lovett is a podcaster who has decided to look into the former and unwittingly finds himself part of the latter. The writing is clever and there are lots of unexpected aspects to the story, as well as twists galore. The bottom line is that it was really good to read and it earned 4 Stars.
Murder Mindfully by Karsten Dusse* (an e-Audiobook)Bjorn is a workaholic lawyer with a wife and young daughter. His marriage is rocky, so when his wife tells him to repair his work-life balance or she will leave him (with their daughter) he starts mindfulness classes. It takes a while, but as he slowly becomes calmer, he begins to understand what he needs to fix. The first thing is Dragan Sergowicz, his major client and a crime boss, who expects Bjorn’s availability and commitment 24/7. But when Dragan oversteps the mark and threatens Bjorn’s family time, Bjorn realises if he’s to achieve his goal of finding serenity he must kill Dragan. Cornish Eskimo said this was brilliant to listen to – well-plotted, hilarious and clever. And Joe Thomas, the actor and comedian who reads the audiobook, is wonderfully deadpan. It’s laugh-out-loud funny and engaging, and the Eskimo gave it 5 Stars.
The Killing Time by Elly Griffiths
Book 2 in the Ali Dawson series about a cold case, time-travelling police team. Ali is looking into a present-day case, the apparent suicide of a young man who fell to his death from a high building. She suspects the death might be linked to a psychic medium called Barry Power, and so she goes along to one of his stage shows. Power claims to be in contact with one of Ali’s colleagues (Jones) who, in the previous book, got stuck in Victorian London, so of course Ali then travels back in time to find out more. If the plot sounds ridiculous, it’s because it is! Norfolk Gal says that unless you’ve read Book 1 it will be difficult to follow. Yes, you have to suspend belief but it’s really enjoyable and full of interest. The descriptions of Victorian London are excellent and the characters have depth (especially if you’ve read the first book and know their back stories). 3+ Stars.
What’s in a Star?
Deciding why you like an author or have enjoyed a book is, of course, entirely subjective, and everyone who comes along to meetings of Oundle Crime has different tastes. So how do we try to get some consistency in our Star ratings? Well, after some discussion, we’ve come up with the following:
- 5 Stars: Outstanding and unforgettable. A book you can’t wait to tell others about.
- 4 Stars: A good book with an interesting, layered story that you will still remember after a month.
- 3 Stars: Not good or bad, but an average story and characters. You enjoyed reading it, but might not remember it after a month.
- 2 Stars: Poorly written, superficial and probably a bit of a yawn. Forgettable.
- 1 Star: Rubbish through and through. A book you wish you hadn’t read and don’t want to remember!