Month: January 2014

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Post Script: Fear Nothing – Lisa Gardner

Fear Nothing

A Detective D.D. Warren Novel

Lisa Gardner

PENGUIN GROUP Dutton

Dutton Adult

ISBN: 9780525953081

 

Description:

In #1 New York Times bestseller Lisa Gardner’s latest pulse-pounding thriller, Detective D. D. Warren must face a new fear as a serial killer terrorizes Boston.

 

My name is Dr. Adeline Glen. Due to a genetic condition, I can’t feel pain. I never have. I never will.

The last thing Boston Detective D. D. Warren remembers is walking the crime scene after dark. Then, a creaking floorboard, a low voice crooning in her ear. . . . She is later told she managed to discharge her weapon three times. All she knows is that she is seriously injured, unable to move her left arm, unable to return to work.

My sister is Shana Day, a notorious murderer who first killed at fourteen. Incarcerated for thirty years, she has now murdered more people while in prison than she did as a free woman.

Six weeks later, a second woman is discovered murdered in her own bed, her room containing the same calling cards from the first: a bottle of champagne and a single red rose. The only person who may have seen the killer: Detective D. D. Warren, who still can’t lift her child, load her gun, or recall a single detail from the night that may have cost her everything.

Our father was Harry Day, an infamous serial killer who buried young women beneath the floor of our home. He has been dead for forty years. Except the Rose Killer knows things about my father he shouldn’t. My sister claims she can help catch him. I think just because I can’t feel pain doesn’t mean my family can’t hurt me.

D.D. may not be back on the job, but she is back on the hunt. Because the Rose Killer isn’t just targeting lone women, he is targeting D.D. And D.D. knows there is only one way to take him down:

 

My View:

This is a superb thriller!

This is the 7th book in the D.D .Warren series yet can easily be read as a standalone. As this is the 7th book in the series I am assuming that this quality of writing is typical of this author – and I want to read more! I want to read them all! This book is brilliant. It is not surprising this author is a #1 seller; the plot is a cracker, the history of evilness is vile, the pace is exhausting, the crimes are heinous, the dialogue is natural and conversational, the two perspectives – of Dr Adeline Glen and that of Detective D.D. Warren provide insight and give meaning to the narrative. This narrative has a wonderful range of strong female leads. It is BRILLIANT.

I had to read all 416 pages last night- once you begin this book you cannot put it down until the last funeral is over. FANTASTIC!

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Eggplant Parmesan

The garden is providing an abundance of eggplant, tomatoes, onions, beans, pumpkins, zucchinis and cucumbers.

This week I will make tomato kasundi and eggplant kasundi to use up some of the excess (  tastes yum too).

Today I made Chef Pasquale’s Eggplant Parmesan. It was easy and taste so good! (but only uses one eggplant) 🙂

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Eggplant a-la-natural

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Eggplant freshly picked.

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The finished product- Eggplant Parmesan .

**See the video for the recipe or leave a comment requesting and I will post the list of ingredients and method.

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Post Script: Catalyst – Michael Knaggs

Catalyst

Hotel St Kilda Series

Michael Knaggs

Troubador Publishing Ltd

Matador

ISBN: 9781783067619

  

Description:

“Time’s up, Jimmy. This is for your neighbours hiding behind their curtains, for the guys you injured tonight and other nights, and for the misery and pain you’ve inflicted on hundreds of nice people. Oh yes, and for the lady I told you about. I don’t think I mentioned it before, but the third time she tried to take her own life, she succeeded.” He pulled the trigger.

The first book in the gripping ‘Hotel St Kilda’ series by Michael Knaggs transports the reader to a community under constant threat from a brutal gang, led by three brothers. When these men are lured to an isolated street and shot dead by a mysterious stranger, the subsequent euphoria on the estate where they lived is picked up by the national press.

Catalyst follows the crusade of Tom Brown, MP for the Opposition Party and champion of law and order, who is forced to put everything on the line, including his relationship with his wife, to implement a controversial New Justice Regime. He receives strong support from his Party colleagues and a local campaigner, George Holland, who travels the country to rally the support for radical change.

When the killer is eventually caught, the gang sets out for revenge, targeting George for his outspoken condemnation of their activities and uncompromising proposals for their demise. They descend in large numbers on the quiet village where he lives, armed and ready to kill, and the resulting event is dubbed ‘The Meadow Village Massacre’ across the national papers.

Catalyst builds from an opening sequence based on a short story penned by the author over fifty years ago. The saga of Hotel St Kilda will continue in the second book of the series, Heaven’s Door, and features a climax which has its roots in a separate short story. The narrative is a linking of these two events, and whilst purely a work of fiction, provides a vehicle for the author to express a number of personal issues on law and order.

 

My View:

I really enjoyed the opening sequences of this book and can understand why the author decided to develop this into a full sized novel – however I think a little of the tension and the excitement was lost in the translation to a novel about politics and manipulation. The original premise seemed to change to an altogether different agenda – a law and order social change theme and whilst it was certainly interesting to  read how the public, journalists and members of the government alike can be manipulated  so easily and cleverly, it was not the story I thought I was going to get or wanted.

 

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Post Script: The Advent Killer – Alastair Gunn

The Advent Killer

Alastair Gunn

Penguin Books Australia

Penguin

ISBN: 9781405914440

 

 

Description:

At first they said it was coincidence.

Number one drowned; number two beaten to death. But when a third woman is murdered at exactly one a.m. on a third consecutive Sunday, DCI Antonia Hawkins finds herself on the hunt for a cold, careful killer whose victims seem to be chosen at random.

As public panic spreads in the weeks before Christmas, Hawkins and her team have to stop a killer whose twisted motives can only be guessed at before another week brings another victim. When the clock strikes one . . .

My View:

Don’t be mistaken, this is NOT a cozy crime read!

The opening sequences are ghoulish and breathtaking! The voice of the villain in this narrative is particular loathsome and malignant, his rationale making sense only to himself.

This is an excellent debut crime novel and I think we are going to see more of DCI Hawkins and her team. There were elements in this book that reminded me of the early DCI Tennison character in the Prime Suspect series – Hawkins is another female detective fighting crime whilst simultaneously struggling to survive in a male dominated profession that is at constant odds with her position of power; sexism in the workplace is a strong subplot in this narrative.  I wish her luck!

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Post Script: Monkey Business – Kathryn Ledson

Here is my contribution to Australia Day 2014 and the Australia Day Book Giveaway Blog Hop being hosted Shelleyrae at  Book’d Out. Please check out the other participants on the  Book’d Out site.

Please comment if you would like to be considered for a giveaway –  by an Australian author –  Chick Lit, Memoir, Crime Fiction or Recipe Book.

AustraliaDaybloghop2014

My reveiw:

Monkey Business

Monkey Business

Kathryn Ledson

Michael Joseph

The Penguin Group

ISBN: 9781921901164

 

 

Description:

Erica Jewell reckons being a part-time vigilante is stressful enough, without the added pressures of a demanding day job, annoying family and bossy cat. Now her mysterious lover has vanished on some clandestine mission, without leaving a forwarding address. Erica thinks that’s pretty typical of hired gun Jack Jones – he’d rather risk his life than his heart.

Then Erica discovers with a shock that Jack is M.I.A. on the jungle-infested island of Saint Sebastian. When no one seems willing to help find Jack or even acknowledge his existence, Erica knows she’s his only chance. But negotiating her way around lawless and sweltering Sebastian, where monkey business abounds, proves far more dangerous than she expected.

Fast-paced, funny and totally engaging, Monkey Business blends adventure and romance in an irresistible summer read.

My View:

A delicious snack of fun and laughter.

I really enjoyed this easy reading, fast paced piece of escapist writing; for several hours I laughed to myself and got lost and involved in the madcap world of Erica Jewell.  This is perfect read for on the train, plane or beach or when you need cheering up – light, engaging, funny and all action completed with an authentic Australian voice.

There is something about this  novel that is so engaging – maybe it is its Australianness – the characters and the narrative do not take themselves seriously, there is a glorious sense of fun and madness that the author does not  try to justify – it just is what it is – fun, light, entertaining. The characters and settings are familiar and memorable –   who doesn’t know of Tupperware parties, of standing in queues at night clubs,  of exotic overseas holiday destinations (not), handsome heroes , demanding mothers, true good friends and mysteries galore – what isn’t there to love about this book? Ledson strikes the right balance of fun and adventure, danger and romance. A great entertaining read.

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Post Script: Stone Bruises – Simon Beckett

Moody and atmospheric.

Simon Beckett

Random House UK, Transworld Publishers

Bantam Press

ISBN: 9780593073285

 

Description:

‘Somebody!’ I half-sob and then, more quietly, ‘Please.’ The words seem absorbed by the afternoon heat, lost amongst the trees. In their aftermath, the silence descends again. I know then that I’m not going anywhere…

Sean is on the run. We don’t know why and we don’t know from whom, but we do know he’s abandoned his battered, blood-stained car in the middle of an isolated, lonely part of rural France at the height of a sweltering summer. Desperate to avoid the police, he takes to the parched fields and country lanes only to be caught in the vicious jaws of a trap. Near unconscious from pain and loss of blood, he is freed and taken in by two women – daughters of the owner of a rundown local farm with its ramshackle barn, blighted vineyard and the brooding lake. And it’s then that Sean’s problems really start…

Superbly written, Stone Bruises is a classic nail-shredder of a thriller that holds you from the beginning. The narrative slowly, inexorably tightens its grip as the story unfurls and will keep you guessing until the unnerving and shocking final twist…

My View:

Beckett does an excellent job of creating tension and a sense of mystery that builds and builds until the final revelations in the last few chapters. This dual time line narrative alternates between chapters in London describing  life and events leading up to the protagonists time on the run in the French countryside and the next chapter based in the present time in the provincial run down Chestnut farm in rural France.

The sense of foreboding and secrecy dominates the lives of those who inhabit the farm. There is a definite and palpable power imbalance and a strong sense of evil looms heavily over what could have been an idyllic setting. Fear orchestrates life on the farm; fear, pigs, traps and shot guns assert their authority.

 

This is an excellent thriller, the sense of unease and dread is cleverly constructed and the mysteries of both locations are not unlocked until the very last chapters of this novel. Beckett creates a great sense of place and maintains the high level of adrenalin loaded action that has the reader chanting; “leave, get out quick.” They dont.

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Post Script: The Woman Before Me: Ruth Dugdall

The Woman Before Me

Ruth Dugdall

Legend Press

ISBN: 9781909593619

Description:

Winner of the CWA Debut Dagger and the Luke Bitmead Bursary

Shortlisted for The New Angle Book Prize, The People’s Book Prize and the Brit Writer’s Novel Award.

 

‘They came for me, just like I knew they would. Luke had been dead for just three days.’

Rose Wilks’ life is shattered when her newborn baby Joel is admitted to intensive care. Alongside her is Emma Hatcher, who’s just given birth to Luke. Joel dies and Luke is thriving, until tragedy strikes and Rose is the only suspect.

Now, having spent nearly five years behind bars, Rose is just weeks away from freedom. Her probation officer Cate must decide whether Rose is remorseful for Luke’s death, or whether she remains a threat to society. As Cate is drawn in, she begins to doubt her own judgement.

Where is the line between love and obsession, can justice be served and, if so… by what means?

My View:

This is a haunting story of obsession, birth and murder and the consequences of said behaviours. This is the type of book that once you have read it; it sits with you, teasing your memories, challenging your ethics, ideals and questions “what would you do in this position?”

This is an interesting narrative; before we have even turned the first page we know that 1 baby dies in hospital and one has died in a tragedy, that Rose Wilks has been charged and found guilty of the death of baby Luke and that she is in gaol awaiting possible release on parole. Here we meet probation officer Cate who has the unenviable task of determining if Rose is suitable for early release.  And this is where our story actually starts.

This is a story of the everyday, by that I mean the language is simple, cleanly written, neat and precise. The story sits quietly on the page, daringly revealing the truth word by word, entry by entry in Rose’s diary. In this narrative we have the alternating perspectives of Cate and Rose to guide the reader.

Dugdall is excellent in creating mood and setting. I found the prison settings, inmates and guards disquieting. I did not however find any of the characters particularly inviting or endearing. I did find the story particularly sad and the twist in the tail will surprise many.  I wonder what Ms Dugdall will come with in her next book?