Here is Part Two of Oundle Crime’s list of book recommendations from February. Their reading theme was short titles (because it was a short month!) and Part Two covers authors from H-S and includes everything from espionage to out-and-out thrillers.
Almost all of their choices are available to borrow from Oundle Library or the e-Library, and there’s a mix of print and audio.
The Dry by Jane Harper*
An e-audiobook on BorrowBox and the first of a trilogy about an Australian Federal Investigator called Aaron Falk. It’s set in a small, rural farming community in Australia, where a local farmer, Luke Hadler, apparently went berserk, shot his wife and young son and then himself. The area is suffering with a severe drought, which has put all the farming families under severe stress and the police see no reason to investigate further. Luke had been a childhood friend and Falk returns (after a 20-year absence) for the funerals, where Luke’s family implore him to stay and find out what really happened. The local cop also suspects the deaths might not be a simple murder/suicide, so he and Aaron work together. Silent Witness loved this, saying the writing was spare with not a word out of place. She summed it up as “A great, horrific and utterly compelling read,” and gave it 4 Stars.
Spook Street by Mick Herron*
An early Slough House novel that Mo found by chance in the Large Print section at the library. She hasn’t managed to read this series in any particular order, so it was a process of elimination to work out some of the personnel changes in Jackson Lamb’s team. In this, River Cartwright’s grandfather – a one-time head of MI5 – is struggling with dementia and there’s a risk he might unwittingly share secrets. Meanwhile a bomb has exploded in a London shopping centre, killing forty people, and the security services are on high alert. Is there a connection between the terrorists and David Cartwright, the old spy? This is another hugely entertaining story about Slough House. Complicated, funny, and crackling with realism. 4 Stars from Mo.
The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz*
Juno loved this! It’s Book 2 in the Hawthorn and Horowitz series, where the author plays Watson to Private Investigator Daniel Hawthorne’s Sherlock Holmes. Ostensibly there to record the great detective’s progress with a baffling case, so he can write another book about him, Horowitz is starting to fancy himself as a bit of a super-sleuth too. The case involves the murder of a high-profile lawyer, who has been found beaten to death in his flat. These books combine mystery with a bit of realism, because Horowitz is (ostensibly) writing about himself. The narrative is peppered with references the reader can recognise and relate to, and meanwhile Hawthorne’s character is a gift: moody, egotistical, secretive and super-clever. Borrowed as an e-audiobook Juno said it was a treat to listen to. 4+ Stars.
The Runner by Stephen Leather*
A standalone novel and a rip-roaring adventure that’s a real page turner. Sally Page is a junior MI5 agent, employed as a ‘footie’ – someone who manages the fake identities and footprints used by real spies. She does their ‘shopping’, uses their travel cards and posts on social media in their names, to maintain the impression that they are living their fake lives. One day she gets to the office to find all her teammates dead, and she only just manages to escape being killed herself. Going on the run, she is pursued across London but has no idea who she can trust, or who is behind the killings. Jules said this was a great read, with lots of twists and turns. The pace never lets up and you are rooting for Sally from the start. 4 Stars.
The Housemaid by Freida McFadden*
Millie, a young woman just out of prison and on parole, feels lucky to find a job as maid/housekeeper for a very wealthy family, although it’s an odd set-up. The young daughter is spoilt and badly behaved; the wife, Nina, sometimes seems quite unhinged and vindictive; and the husband is kindness itself and very handsome. Before long Millie falls in love with him, and he with her, and the wife and daughter have moved out. The story is then picked up by Nina, who gives a very different view of her husband as a violent, charming, abusive psychopath. When he begins to abuse Millie, he discovers he’s underestimated her, because she’s learnt a thing-or-three in prison and knows how to get her own back. Freyja said this is a simple story and poorly written, with a predictable ending. Even though it’s a bestseller she said it could only give it 2+ Stars.
Heresy by S.J. Parris
Last month, Mo read The Midwinter Martyr, a prequel novella in this series and enjoyed it so much she hunted down Book 1. It’s 1583 and Giordano Bruno, having fled the Italian monastery where he’d spent so much of his life, in order to escape the Inquisition, has ended up in England. He hopes to trace a copy of a forbidden book, which he believes will be in Oxford. Sir Francis Walsingham knows of Bruno’s plan and asks him, while he’s there, to find out what he can about a suspected plot to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I. It’s quite a complicated story but a great plot. And as Parris is an historian, she paints a really vivid picture of Elizabethan England, which Mo found fascinating. Mo is going to continue reading this series and gave this 4 Stars.
Suspects by Lesley Pearse*
When the body of a murdered child is discovered in a Cheltenham cul-de-sac, naturally the residents come under suspicion. Nina and Conrad had only moved in to their new home that day, so they are getting to know their new neighbours as the police investigate. And it soon becomes clear that each resident is hiding their own secrets, and that no-one is exactly what they seem. Granny Weatherwax said it didn’t take her long to become absorbed in everyone’s stories and although the novel seems to be a domestic tale, it is surprisingly dark and gripping. It earned 3+ Stars.
The Fallen by John Sutherland
Alex Lewis is a superintendent in the Met and a trained hostage negotiator. Called to Westminster Bridge he finds a very drunk and upset, Becca Palmer, who has just been sacked from her job as assistant to Simon Jones MP – the policing minister who’s tipped to be a future Prime Minister. Becca tells Alex she’s been having an affair with Jones and hints that she knows things that she shouldn’t. Alex and his partner Pip (who is also in the police) take Becca under their wing, and together with Becca’s sister find themselves trying to get to the bottom of a conspiracy. Norfolk Gal says this isn’t a run-of-the-mill police procedural. The characters are believable and the story so well-paced that, as the novel nears the end, it’s unputdownable. She’s now tracking down the others in this series. 4 Stars. (This was read on her Kindle.)
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!
If you’d like to meet other crime fiction fans and chat about the books and authors you enjoy, why not come along to an Oundle Crime meeting? It’s relaxed and friendly, and anyone can drop in. Email join@friendsofoundlelibrary.org.uk and we’ll send you the details.