Eight books we discussed at our February meeting. Some good, some not so good!
Our theme in February was book titles which had a location in them. Not all the titles we read were worth including in this but the books we did chat about are listed below, alphabetically by author.
The Secret by Lee Child
This story goes back into Jack Reacher’s past. It’s 1992 and he’s representing the army in an inter-agency team investigating the deaths of a number of scientists. Sound familiar? It’s the same premise as Lee Child used in his 2016 Jack Reacher book ‘Night School’ and Cornish Eskimo says you can’t help remembering that as you read this. It’s not a great story but she finished the book, while always hoping it would get better. It didn’t. Sadly, the Eskimo thinks it could be time for Reacher to hang up his boots and retire. Barely 3 Stars.
Death Awaits in Durham by Helen Cox
A rather ordinary cosy crime mystery. Librarian and part-time private investigator, Kitt Hartley, is visiting a friend in Durham when she learns of a missing/murdered university student. She and her friend decide to investigate and are soon hired by the mother of the missing girl’s boyfriend, who wants to help him get over his loss. Norfolk Gal says the plot is full of red herrings and described this as “a gentle, before-you-go-to-sleep read”. 3 Stars.
The Killing Place by Kate Ellis
The latest Wesley Peterson mystery and, as always, set in two time-lines – one in 1787, the other in the present day. The 1787 story is about an out-of-work actor recruited to go to Devon to do a job on a grand estate. The present-day concerns the hall of the same estate, now owned by a multi-millionaire, where a man has been found shot dead. Meanwhile, archaeologists digging nearby to uncover a hidden grotto, unearth a skeleton. Norfolk Gal says this is an enjoyable mystery – likeable characters, well-paced and interesting. And another plus for the series is that each book can be read as a standalone novel. 3+ Stars.
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
MadDog says this was excellent! She picked it because there was a location in the title but she’ll definitely be looking for more books by Lucy Foley now. This is a locked room mystery, set in a Paris apartment building. Jess travels to Paris to stay with her brother Ben, but when she arrives at his very nice apartment, he’s not there. As time passes she becomes convinced that something bad has happened and starts to dig into his disappearance. The story is told by the various owners of the different apartments in the building. MadDog says you don’t get any particular feeling that this is Paris – the apartment block could actually be anywhere in the world – but it’s cleverly written, a gritty story and it has an unexpected ending. 4+ Stars.
Private Down Under by James Patterson and Michael White
Book 6 in one of James Patterson’s co-authored series, which now numbers 19 titles. The security and detective business known as Private is opening new offices in Australia, and from the firm’s launch party its boss, PI Craig Gisto and his team are thrown into investigating some horrible crimes: a dead, kidnapped boy; a rock star who believes someone’s trying to kill him; and wealthy women being murdered in the suburbs. Juno picked this up in a charity shop and says the story wasn’t very nice or even very interesting. In her words it was “a bit overdone” and she’s decided to take a break from Patterson and his sidekicks for a bit. 3 Stars.
The Best Revenge by Gerald Seymour
The latest of Seymour’s Jonas Merrick series and another thoroughly entertaining story. This concerns Merrick’s efforts to bring down a network of Chinese spies in the UK with a sub-plot involving the Russians. As always, Merrick is working mostly alone to stay under the radar and avoid the scrutiny of his bosses at MI5, who would certainly stop his plans in their tracks if they knew of them. Seymour writes in a rat-a-tat-tat style that brings its own tension to the story and Merrick is a great character, unlikeable in many ways but completely single-minded when it comes to his work. Cornish Eskimo says she’s found all these books amusing to read and well-plotted, but this one ends with a question mark so she’s hoping the series will continue. 4 Stars.
Bleeding Heart Square by Andrew Taylor
A standalone novel published in 2008 which Mo loved, and which featured in The Times ‘Top 100 Crime & Thrillers since 1945’ list. Set in 1930s London it’s the story of Lydia who, escaping an abusive marriage, now lives in Bleeding Heart Square. But there’s a mystery associated with the house she lives in because the owner, Miss Penhow, went missing four years before and there are other strange things going on too. Mo says Taylor’s books are always full of believable characters and beautifully written, and although this was a bit slow to start, once it got going there was so much to enjoy! It was twisty, gripping and very hard to put down and she gave it 4+ Stars.
Foul Play at the Seaview Hotel by Glenda Young
A Cosy Crime story set in Scarborough, concerning a crazy golf tournament. Two competing teams book into two different local hotels but, due to overbooking, the captain of one has to stay at the hotel of the other. The teams are deadly rivals and when one of the captains dies of anaphylactic shock the police decide it’s murder. Into the breach steps Helen, the owner of the hotel where the crime happened, who decides she must investigate. Freyja says most of the characters are complete caricatures and the plot is so ridiculous it’s unintentionally funny. On the plus side, the descriptions of Scarborough are good and vivid but despite this she only gave it 2 Stars and said that was generous!
If you’d like to attend a meeting of Oundle Crime to meet other crime fiction fans and chat about the books and authors you enjoy, just email join@friendsofoundlelibrary.org.uk and we’ll send you the details.