You are here: Home / Archives for A reads

Until Thy Wrath Be Past, By: Åsa Larsson and translated by Laurie Thompson

January 9, 2012 By 7 Comments

UNTIL THY WRATH BE PAST (2011), wastes no time pulling you into the story. This is the fourth book in the series set in Sweden to feature district attorney Rebecka Martinsson. This is the best written book in the series that started with SUN STORM (2006). This is a tightly plotted story that is well thought out and full of tension filled scenes that introduces an interesting pair of antagonists in the Krekula brothers. The premise: a young couple go winter diving in a mountain lake and then disappear. There is mention of Germany’s occupation in the country during WWII and its impact in the lives of those affected in the present day. The narrative often splits into several different perspectives, told in third person, where one is seamlessly done from the victim’s POV.

UNTIL THY WRATH BE PAST was unputdownable. This book epitomizes all that I enjoy in Scandinavian crime fiction with its interesting locale and culture. The tone can sometimes be bleak as most books in this genre tend to be about people expressing loneliness and/or despair. I like the focus on nature and its contrasts. I like the attention to the harsh climate. I like that the characters are believable and are shown to deal with their own personal issues while investigating crimes. I liked the flow of the story and how each thread or events begin to form and connect to give a complete picture. The plot is one that uses real events about German soldiers using Swedish drivers to transport supplies to the Eastern front. The author delved into the past and unearthed some interesting facts to tell her story. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Book Reviews, translated works Tagged With: , ,

Misterioso: A Crime Novel, by Arne Dahl and translated by Tiina Nunnally

September 6, 2011 By 4 Comments

Misterioso (c2011 ; 352 pages) is the first book in the Intercrime series written by Arne Dahl, pen name for Jan Arnald and translated from the Swedish by Tiina Nunnally. I must admit that the prologue didn’t grab me and I set the book aside. Several weeks later, I picked it back up again and couldn’t put it down. That’s why I hate prologues because they are utterly useless. Anyway, this is a well written and well thought out police procedural set in Stockholm during the mid-1990′s. It’s what I would say is a thinking person’s thriller. I spent all day Sunday reading this book until I finished it.

Sweden is going through an economic crisis. Out of this financial instability, a serial killer emerges and starts targeting the titans of the business industry, catapulting Sweden into a panic. [Read more...]

Filed Under: translated works Tagged With: , ,

A Catch of Consequence, by Diana Norman

September 4, 2011 By 6 Comments

The reading world was dealt a devastating blow with the loss of Diana Norman (Aug 25, 1933 – Jan 27, 2011). For readers who are unfamiliar with her work, she wrote mostly historical fiction novels set in late 18th Century and a set of crime fiction novels featuring a female pathologist set during the 12th Century. She had a way of bringing her characters to life like no other and her recreation of the past made you feel like you were right there. She was a gifted storyteller who will be sorely missed.

I pulled out A Catch of Consequence (2003) for a reread and wanted to give a brief review. This is the first book I’d read by her that made me a fan. The story is broken down into three parts covering several years. There’s love, tragedy, hope and peace between these pages. This is the first of three books that feature the indomitable Makepeace Burke. She’s an independent woman running a successful tavern called The Roaring Meg in Boston, out by the waterfront. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: ,

The Redeemer, By: Jo Nesbø (writer) and Don Bartlett (translator)

June 16, 2011 By 11 Comments

Who is this that comes from Edom, coming from Bozrah, his garments stained crimson? Who is this, in his glorious apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? ‘It is I, who announce that right has won the day, it is I,’ says the Lord, ‘for I am mighty to save you.’- Isaiah 63:1

The powers that be at Random House (U.S.) decided to publish The Snowman (2011) over The Redeemer. American audiences were blown away and the book landed on the NYT bestseller list. The Snowman has a lot more action in it on a grand scale and it features a serial killer and we like serial killers over here or so I heard. Meanwhile, The Redeemer is coming out sometime next year I hear.

To me The Redeemer is the best of Jo Nesbø’s work. Why? I recall reading an interview where the author stated that creating the antagonist was one of the hardest parts of the writing process (among others) because this person has to come across as being credible for the reader. Well, he nailed that in this book. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: , ,

Curse of the Pogo Stick, By: Colin Cotterill

May 31, 2011 By 4 Comments

Title: Curse of the Pogo Stick

Author: Colin Cotterill

Year Published: August 2009

Length: 272 pages

Genre: crime fiction, amateur sleuth, political satire (with supernatural elements)

Standalone or series: series (ongoing)

Order in series: 5 out of 7 (at time of writing)

POV: 3rd person

Formats: print and digital, Kindle pre-order

Plot: The series is set in the communist state of Laos during the late 1970′s and follows the disheartened, stubborn and cynical communist party member, Dr. Siri Paiboun. He’s 73 years young and the nation’s only coroner. The Hmong people are front and center in this entry. A fascinating people who make their home in the mountainous region of northeast Asia and who fought in the “secret war” against communism and lost. Bad luck continues to attach itself to the Hmong when an American toy seems to have in their mind “cursed their village.” The pogo stick is sort of a reminder of their allegiance with the Americans who recruited them, trained them and abandoned them to an awful fate.

Meanwhile, Dr. Siri Paiboun travels with Judge Haeng on an assignment that proves to be quite the adventure for them both. Back in Vientiane, Nurse Dtui, Civiali and Inspector Phosy along with Madame Daeng (ex-freedom fighter and now entrepreneur of her own noodle shop) hunt down a royalist sympathizer with the code name of The Lizard (see Anarchy and Old Dogs). Their foe proves to be more clever than they had anticipated or maybe not. My thoughts are below the break. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: , ,

It Was The War of the The Trenches, By: Tardi (Story & Art)

April 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Another hobby of mine is reading graphic novels. It Was the War of the Trenches (2010, 120 pages) is written and drawn by French artist, Jacques Tardi, known simply as “Tardi” and translated by Kim Thompson. Tardi is my new discovery. I caught onto him quite late via his most famous heroine, Adèle Blanc-Sec and her adventures, set in 20th century Paris.

“The only thing that interests me is man and his suffering and it fills me with rage.” -Tardi

Why read this graphic novel? I’ve always had an interest in war stories and It Was The War of the Trenches is an engrossing read from start to finish. I don’t know why I read such depressing stories. I just do. The foreword by the author goes in depth behind the premise of his work. I will quote a piece of it here for you because well, he does a better of job of explaining it and I like to cut to the chase: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Graphic novels Tagged With: , ,

The Leopard, By: Jo Nesbø and translated by Don Bartlett

March 22, 2011 By 3 Comments

The Leopard (2011) or as it’s known in Norway, Panserhjerte, is written by Jo Nesbø and translated from the Norwegian by Don Bartlett. It’s the sixth entry in the series to be translated. The first translated book in the series is The Redbreast. To discuss why I love Jo Nesbø would take all day. Simply put: he’s a brilliant writer whose stories are set on a global playing field. Fact is, he gives you more than your standard police procedural.

Starting from the opium dens in Hong, Kong to the war ravaged Congo in Africa. The action in here is almost non-stop. The protagonist, Harry Hole, is a maverick detective with an alcohol addiction. That handicap doesn’t stop him from doing his job well though. Thing is, Harry loves being a cop. It’s in his blood. To quote from the book:” He couldn’t care less about personal prestige, he only wants to catch the bad guys.” Yep.

The aftermath of the Snowman case has left Harry emotionally and physically scarred. Since the last book, he quit his job to live in Hong, Kong. For him, there’s nothing left back home save his father and sister. Meanwhile, back in Oslo, another serial killer has struck and the detectives there are struggling to solve it. Supposedly this is a serial killer inspired from the Snowman case. Police HQ hunt up Harry because they need him back in Oslo. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Book Reviews, translated works Tagged With: , , ,

The Devil’s Star, By: Jo Nesbø and translated by Don Bartlett

February 21, 2011 By 4 Comments

The Devil’s Star (2005) by Jo Nesbø, originally titled, Marekors, is translated from the Norwegian by the talented Don Bartlett. Jo Nesbø is hands down my favorite Scandinavian crime fiction writer. Unfortunately, the media likes to think that there was no one before Stieg Larsson for some strange reason. The two writers couldn’t be more different. What I like about Jo Nesbø is that he knows how to write tight plots. He knows how to develop his characters. His villains are often well developed with motives that are familiar themes: revenge and betrayal. There are also moral dilemmas the author sometimes thrusts his main characters into with an outcome that may shock or surprise you.

In this entry in the series, the story sorta ends the continuing yet fascinating thread involving police corruption that started in The Redbreast or as originally titled Rødstrupe and continues on in Nemesis alternately titled as Sorgenfri in the native tongue. The series follows fallible hero Oslo Inspector Harry Hole. A maverick detective, haunted by demons and addicted to alcohol. Harry’s a cliché. He’s a loner and a social outcast at work partly due to his bad reputation. He tends to have a fractious relationship with his bosses and collegues. Despite all of that though, he’s the only serial killer expert in Oslo, having tracked and caught one in Australia. The case brings him some notoriety. Despite Harry’s flaws, he’s a good detective who utilizes unconventional methods when cracking some of Oslo’s most difficult cases.

The Devil’s Star opens with the start of the summer holidays. Harry goes off the grid if you will, to further investigate the events involving gun smuggling that may involve some Oslo police officers, led by someone who goes by the code name of “Prince.” That case cost Harry his partner and it eats away at him daily. He’s determined to find the culprits but he hits a brick wall. He can’t find any viable witnesses to finger the cop behind the smuggling so he goes on a drinking binge. Absence from work coupled with his drinking forces Harry’s sympathetic boss to hand him his dismissal papers. Due to the summer holidays, the Chief Superintendent isn’t due back for another couple of weeks so Harry is given a reprieve. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Book Reviews, translated works Tagged With: , ,

The Edge of Justice – Clinton McKinzie

October 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

“The Edge of Justice” (2003) by Clinton McKinzie was a breath of fresh air in the something new department at the time that I read it. A police officer, exiled in Wyoming, with a passion for, wait for it – mountain climbing.

The author himself is an peace officer/lawyer and avid mountain climber so the added bits about the sport made the story all the more interesting to me. The novel suffered from a slow start though. Am glad I stuck with it because once I went past the first few chapters, it gained enough momentum to carry me off to the end with a smile. A smile that said: damn, this was a good book!

The novel follows Federal Agent Antonio “Ant” Burns who is also known as “Quickdraw.” It’s an unflattering nickname that he despises that was given to him by a journalist. The nickname has a story behind it and it refers to an undercover sting that went bad. Anton shot and killed three gang members and one of the gang member’s family are suing for wrongful death; so off to Laramie, Wyoming he goes for damage control. Shortly after arriving in Wyoming he is handed a conflict of interest case by the assistant attorney generals office. The case is highly sensitive since it involves a prosecutor with political ambitions. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Reflections Tagged With: ,

Shutter Island – Dennis Lehane

September 15, 2010 By 2 Comments

When readers describe a book as being a page-turner, do you believe them? I tend to be skeptical. Admittedly, it’s an overused term and I try not to use it. Much. To consider a book a page-turner is high praise and for me, books like that are rare. Anyway, I picked up Dennis Lehane’s “Shutter Island” (2003) when it first came out and read the first chapter and immediately set it aside. It was so slow! Plus, I was really wanting him to get back to the Patrick/Angie series that I enjoyed so much.

Well, after waiting him out for several years, I caved and gave “Shutter Island” another look. I finally got past chapter one and after chapter three, I found myself unable to put this book down. I stayed up late reading knowing I had to get up early the next morning. I would think about this story while at work and would rush home, lock my door so I wouldn’t be disturbed. The story, literally, took off after the first three chapters. Talk about a high octane story. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: ,

Mystic River – Dennis Lehane

August 22, 2010 By 1 Comment

“Mystic River” (2001) by Dennis Lehane is an awesome novel. This author likes to set a lot of his books in his hometown of Boston. If I had to describe this story I would say it’s a nicely taut police procedural and psychological thriller. I didn’t see the movie and have no desire to ever see it either.

“Mystic River” is about three boys who grew up together in Boston. The three boys are Jimmy Marcus, Sean Devine and Dave Boyle. We get to see how their lives diverge after an childhood incident. One fateful day, Dave Boyle gets into the car of a stranger and this one event changes his life forever. Dave is gone for several days and then he returns home. Even though his friends and the community cheered his return, they immediately start to look at him differently. They’ve heard of all the unspeakable things the police said was done to him by “this stranger” who took him. Needless to say that Dave is traumatized from the event. Even worse, he doesn’t have a stable home life to help him cope. After the kidnapping incident, the boys never do recapture the friendship they shared. So, sadly, they go their separate ways only to meet again 25 years later during a murder investigation. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: ,

Prayers For Rain, Dennis Lehane

June 24, 2010 By 3 Comments

Prayers For Rain [c2000, 416 pages] written by Dennis Lehane, the fifth book in his PI series featuring Patrick Kenzie/Angie Gennaro set in Boston. The next book in the series, Moonlight Mile, comes out November 2nd of this year and it’s the sequel to Gone Baby Gone, set some few years later.

I’ve been a big fan of Dennis Lehane since I first read A Drink Before the War back in the late 1990′s. What I like about Dennis Lehane is that he seems to know how to write about moral ambiguity and he does this one thing very well. The villains in his books tend to not be the standard serial killer types that you usually find in most mysteries or other crime fiction novels. The bad guys don’t always act/look like bad guys. They have upon occasion run into their share of wiseguys, crooked politicians and a serial killer or two.

Like other authors I enjoy like Karin Slaughter, the bad guys tend to be ordinary people on the surface but underneath lies darkness, hidden rages, fetishes with sexually perverse fantasies. Greed tends to be a common denominator and motivator for murder. The author is excellent at leading you down one path and then changing direction as the story progresses. You think you know where he is going but then he slaps you with a nice surprise twist that you didn’t see coming. This type of writing tends to keep me glued to my seat, biting my nails as the tension continues to build. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: , , ,