justice

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Review: The Stranger Inside – Lisa Unger

The Stranger Inside

Lisa Unger

HQ

ISBN: 9781848457072

 

Description
Even good people are drawn to do evil things … Twelve-year-old Rain Winter narrowly escaped an abduction while walking to a friend’s house. Her two best friends, Tess and Hank, were not as lucky. Tess never came home, and Hank was held in captivity before managing to escape. Their abductor was sent to prison but years later was released. Then someone delivered real justice—and killed him in cold blood.

 

Now Rain is living the perfect suburban life, her dark childhood buried deep. She spends her days as a stay-at-home mom, having put aside her career as a hard-hitting journalist to care for her infant daughter. But when another brutal murderer who escaped justice is found dead, Rain is unexpectedly drawn into the case. Eerie similarities to the murder of her friends’ abductor force Rain to revisit memories she’s worked hard to leave behind. Is there a vigilante at work? Who is the next target? Why can’t Rain just let it go?

 

Introducing one of the most compelling and original killers in crime fiction today, Lisa Unger takes readers deep inside the minds of both perpetrator and victim, blurring the lines between right and wrong, crime and justice, and showing that sometimes people deserve what comes to them.

 

 

My View:

This book was thrilling!

 I really love have Lisa Unger has thrown so many “what if’s” “what would you have done” into this mix of suspense and mystery. Lisa demonstrates that there are shades of grey in every decision or situation, no choice we make is simple or clean cut, and I love this shout out to the complexities of life.

 

And there are a few twists in this one you will never see coming! A fantastic read by an author I admire. Lisa Unger never disappoints.

 

**WARNING do not start reading just before you go to bed…you could find yourself having a very late night if you do.

 

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Review: The Psychology of Time Travel – Kate Mascarenhas

The Psychology of Time Travel

The Psychology of Time Travel

Kate Mascarenhas

Harper Collins

Head of Zeus

ISBN: 9781788540117

 

Description:

1967: Four female scientists invent a time-travel machine. They are on the cusp of fame: the pioneers who opened the world to new possibilities. But then one of them suffers a breakdown and puts the whole project in peril.

 

2017: Ruby knows her beloved Granny Bee was a pioneer, but they never talk about the past. Though time travel is now big business, Bee has never been part of it. Then they receive a message from the future–a newspaper clipping reporting the mysterious death of an elderly lady.

 

2018: When Odette discovered the body, she went into shock. Blood everywhere, bullet wounds, flesh. But when the inquest fails to answer any of her questions, Odette is frustrated. Who is this dead woman that haunts her dreams? And why is everyone determined to cover up her murder?

 

 

My View:

This is a really difficult book to review because it is unique; the cover might look soft and fuzzy but the content is complex, at times brutal and always interesting. It is a mash up of genres- time travel, romance and a family orientated, murder mystery with a serious feminist bent that uses the framework of time travel to reflect on issues relating to power, control, bullying, hazing, racism, workplace harassment, mental health, the justice system and sexual equality (my list is not exhaustive).

 

The characters are all very strong, intelligent, talented, resourceful women. It is so unusual to find a narrative where intelligent women in control of their own futures, shape and dictate the narrative; this is feminism that doesn’t preach its message, it doesn’t “tell” just “shows” without anger or recriminations; it just “is”. And in doing so, is such a refreshing read. Bravo!

 

 

 

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Post Script: Runaway – Peter May

“I guess life is really about pain, isn’t it? That’s what feeling is. Any feeling. Even good feelings can be painful in their own way. And pain, pure pain is just the most heightened feeling of all.”

Runaway

Runaway

Peter May

Quercus Publishing

Hachette Australia

ISBN: 9781784299828

  

Description:

In 1965, five teenage friends fled Glasgow for London to pursue their dream of musical stardom. Yet before year’s end three returned, and returned damaged. In 2015, a brutal murder forces those three men, now in their sixties, to journey back to London and finally confront the dark truth they have run from for five decades.

 

Runaway is a crime novel covering fifty years of friendships solidified and severed, dreams shared and shattered and passions lit and extinguished; set against the backdrop of two unique and contrasting cities at two unique and contrasting periods of recent history.

 

My View:

A remarkable read! A well-constructed narrative that deals with two time settings, the earlier time frame – the late 1960’s – Glasgow and London and events  that had far reaching implications for all those involved and then the decision to revisit the past; in all its glory, with its downfalls, its sadness, naivety, bleakness and the loves, friendships and hope. 2015 sees the world through aging eyes and rights still have to be made, restitution paid. Crimes have been committed. The scales need to be balanced.

 

The settings are finely drawn. The characters believable, three dimensional and empathetic. I love their mission, and the ending has more than a few twists. This is more than a work of crime fiction, this is more than just a contemporary narrative, and this is more than the sum these elements … so much more. This is a story of life, of death, of adventure, of the potential of youth and the potential of older age and mostly this is the story of enduring friendships. And this is about pain, without pain you have nothing.

 

I loved my first Peter May read and will certainly look for others by this author.

 

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Post Script: The Murder Of Harriet Krohn – Karin Fossum

Can you balance the scales or wipe out an evil act with good deeds?

18657665

The Murder of Harriet Krohn

Karin Fossum

Translated by James Anderson

Harvill Secker

Random House

ISBN: 9781846557958

 

 

Description:

Charles Olav Torp has problems. He’s grieving for his late wife, he’s lost his job, and gambling debts have alienated him from his teenage daughter. Desperate, his solution is to rob an elderly woman of her money and silverware. But Harriet Krohn fights back, and Charlo loses control.

 

Wracked with guilt, Charlo attempts to rebuild his life and regain his dignity. But the police are catching up with him, and Inspector Konrad Sejer has never lost a case yet.

 

Through the eyes of a killer, The Murder of Harriet Krohn poses the question: how far would you go to turn your life around, and could you live with yourself afterwards?

 

 

My View:

 

Fossum poses a very interesting question in this psychological study when Sejer asks the suspect “What is a human being?” and he answers profoundly; “There are probably as many answers as there are human beings. And I hate all that guff about free will.” Sejer responds with equal insight, “Because you feel you haven’t got it. But many people would maintain that they do have it. You’re envious and so you dismiss the term” (p.275). This book is an interesting study about free choice, guilt and about how far an individual will go to change the circumstances of their life, a life where choices seem limited or non-existent. Can you wipe out one act of evilness with a lifetime of goodness? Can we re balance the scales?

 

This book is a little different to others I have read by Fossum – the narrative is told from the perspective of the villain, we see the wretchedness of his life, his illogical logic, his attempts to convince himself he had no choice but to commit this heinous crime and his efforts to lead a “good life” after the crime is committed. Inspector Sejer’s appearance is largely in the periphery – he is mentioned in the newspaper reports of the crime and it is not til the very end that he makes an entrance, in his usual calm and composed manner. We learn very little of how Sejer puts his case together – we know it is by solid police work and investigation, witness statements etc. but we are not privy to his thought processes.

 

This is a very unassuming book; not your average work of crime fiction, but them we know not to expect average from Ms Fossum. This narrative is told in a very slow and calm manner with a very deliberate and detailed look at a life less fortunate and the choices we may or may not have and the repercussions of those choices. A great psychological expose.

 

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Post Script: Alex – Pierre Lemaitre

Brutal, shocking, mesmerising; but justice will be served. 

Alex, Pierre Lemaitre

Alex

Pierre Lemaitre

MacLehose Press

Quercus

ISBN: 9780857051875

 

Description:

In kidnapping cases, the first few hours are vital. After that, the chances of being found alive go from slim to none. Alex Prevost is running out of time. And her abductor wants only one thing: to watch her die. Police Commandant Camille Verhoeven has nothing to go on: no suspect, no leads, no hope. But as he begins to understand more about Alex, he starts to realise she is no ordinary victim. Beautiful, tough, resourceful, always two steps ahead – the enigma that is Alex will keep you guessing till the bitter, bitter end. Before long, saving her life will be the least of Verhoeven’s worries.

My View:

My attention was grabbed in the first pages – Lemaitre knows how to woo the reader, to entice and lure you into the story. First we are seduced with Alex’s innocence and her simple pleasures as she tries on wigs; the adult playing dress ups. At some point she thinks she that she might be being followed, she tries to shrug off this feeling, goes out to dinner then on her walk home WAM!   “A fist slams between her shoulder blades, leaving her breathless…the man grabs her hair…punches her in the stomach hard enough to stun a bull.” (p.7) The brutality is simultaneously captivating and revolting…you cannot help but want to read more.

A kidnapping begins this impressive mystery. We sense the fear; feel the drama, and anticipate what is to come. We know and the victim knows it will not be pleasant.  We have been successfully baited, lured and hooked by Lemaitre. What a great piece of writing and we are only seven pages into the novel!

From this point on we are spun around, confused and conflicted by the revelations that follow.  Toss the coin, is Alex victim or perpetrator? Can she be both?

This is an amazing novel that captivates and spins a twisted tale of deception, of past sins and retribution and finally of justice. “Oh the truth, the truth…Who’s to say what’s true and what isn’t. Commandant? As far as we’re concerned what’s important is not truth, it’s justice – right?” (p354) And justice it is indeed!

PS

A great translation by Frank Wynne – the words flowed easily and fluidly.