Quick Review – Alone

Published 2005

Part police procedural, part dark psychological suspense, this well-written chiller kept me turning the pages. (Through most of the book.)

The two main characters dragged huge amounts of baggage through the story.

Massachusetts State Trooper Bobby Dodge is a member of the elite Boston STOP team. An on-the-wagon alcoholic, he's been struggling for thirty years with mother abandonment issues, brought on by his violent, hard-drinking father.

Catherine Gagnon was at the age twelve kidnapped and kept for weeks in a dark hole by a sick rapist. The experience shattered her young life and haunts her more than twenty years later, when she is trapped in marriage to a physically abusive man.

Called out to a domestic incident in a posh Boston neighborhood, Bobby shoots Catherine's husband Jimmy as he is about to kill her.

Bad move. Jimmy Gagnon's father, a wealthy supreme court judge, charges Bobby with murder. The resulting investigation probes deeply into Bobby's life and has him questioning his existence and his actions.

Despised by her father-in-law, Catherine is accused of using Bobby to get rid of her husband. Making matters worse, the judge also accuses her of trying to gain attention and sympathy by poisoning her four year old son, who has been mysteriously ill since birth.

Making matters worser (sic) the man who terrorized Catherine as a child has been released from prison. Using the name Mr. Bosu, he receives a list of names and a sum of money and gleefully embarks on a murder spree, systematically disposing of everyone close to Catherine.

The gripping story unfolds, bad piled upon bad, almost depressingly so. But as secrets are revealed my fascination with the story fell flat, and when I learned the why of it all, I was underwhelmed. I could not believe in the story any more. Nor did I believe in the characters any longer, except for Mr. Bosu, one of the better villains I've come across. His motives were clear; everyone else's made no sense to me.

Conclusion: taut, well-paced thriller that falls apart at the end.
--Catstop

Quick Review – Missing

 

Missing by Karin Alvtegen
Published – 2000
Translated from Swedish by Anna Paterson

Though born to a wealthy family, Sybilla Forsenstrom has for 15 years been homeless by choice. She has no address, no identifying papers, and is invisible among the other homeless in Stockholm. Her one tie to her unhappy past is a monthly stipend she receives from her mother--providing she remains invisible. She has been scrupulously saving the money, for her big dream is to buy a small place of her own in the country.

With all her possessions and necessities in backpack and briefcase, Sybilla moves about the city and countryside like a shadow. She has learned all the tricks: how to travel free, where she can find washing facilities, places where she can warm herself during harsh Swedish winters. She resides for weeks at a time in cottages whose owners are away, and leaves no trace she was there.

Occasionally she dons her one good outfit and dines in an upscale hotel, acting as a businesswoman on the road, charming and conning male travelers into paying for her meal and room. For years the game has gone well. A good meal quells her constant hunger, a luxurious room ensures one night of warmth, a fragrant bath, and comfortable sleep.

Then her mark is murdered in his hotel room, his body mutilated. Sybilla was the last person seen with the victim. Her fingerprints are on his key card. This "evidence" combined with mental problems she had in the past makes her an easy suspect. The only suspect.

Too frightened to go to the police, Sybilla is on the run. When a second and then a third man is killed in a similar gruesome manner, she becomes the most wanted serial killer in Sweden. The story of her troubled youth screams from newspaper headlines and across television screens.

She hides in a school attic to rest and regroup, and there meets fifteen year old Patric, a similarly isolated loner. Over the course of several days they become trusted friends, and when a fourth murder is committed, Patric vows to help her prove her innocence.

Proficient using computers, able to hack into police files, Patric learns names of people who might be involved in the murders. He and Sybilla follow up on the leads, with Sybilla dipping into her precious fund to pay expenses.

As they get closer to the truth, Sybilla, worried about Patric's future should his involvement with her become known, strikes out on her own and bravely confronts the killer.

Deftly plotted, Missing is both suspenseful thriller and detailed psychological study of a gritty survivor. Sybilla's struggles are interwoven with flashbacks of her unhappy childhood trying desperately to please cold and distant parents, and the culmination of harrowing events that drove her to become one of the Missing.

Conclusion: I enjoyed reading Sybilla's story. I was fully engaged and admired her intelligence and her determination to overcome enormous obstacles and live free. Many books I read and soon forget; this one has stayed with me.

--Cat

Quick Review BITTER HARVEST

 
Published in 1998

Ann Rule, a master of the true crime genre, tackles the case of a woman who has it all, then ends up doing two consecutive hard forties--forty years in prison for a capital offense in place of the death penalty--for the murders of two of her children and attempted murder of her third child and husband.

Debora Green and Mike Farrar seemed to have a perfect life. Both doctors, they had three active children and an affluent lifestyle. But beneath her devoted wife and mother facade, Debora concealed a volatile personality--she was subject to debilitating insecurities, extreme jealousy and violent rages.

After more than a decade, Mike had had enough and moved out. When their house burned to the ground, Debora and the children moved in with him. They bought a far grander house and Mike promised to make things work with his family. Life improved. For a while.

Once more reaching his limit with Debora, Mike again spoke of moving out and getting a divorce. This time the situation was different as he had met another woman.

Despite recurring bouts of ill health that brought him near death and the growing suspicion he was being poisoned, Mike moved out. Debora turned the children against their father with vile and untrue accusations, then began to drink heavily and take medication for depression. Mike often found her incoherent.

A stint in a psychiatric facility seemed to improve Debora's outlook and all seemed calm until one night Mike received a frantic phone call from a neighbor. His house was on fire! Debora was outside and one of their children managed to escape, but the other two died.

As the police and fire departments investigated it became apparent the fire was arson and the prime suspect with motive and means was Debora Green.

Rule gives us in meticulous detail facts of the investigation, who said/did what, dates, places, pictures. Involved doctors, investigators, lawyers, prosecutors, neighbors and friends add pertinent facts to the book.

Questions raised: Is Debora Green truly the monster who poisoned her husband, then plotted to kill her children by setting a fire that would trap them in their rooms? Is she a brilliant doctor who can't relate to people and, as some psychiatrists said, has the emotional intellect of a child? Can she reasonably claim she didn't know what she had done?

I pitied her at times. At others couldn't wait for her to be locked away.

I certainly pitied Mike for what he had to go through, yet wondered more than once why, knowing how unstable she was, he left the children in her care. Wishful thinking? Hoping for the best? I suppose his motives are another story, another book.

My greatest pity was for the children, two innocent lives lost, one changed forever. Though Rule assures us their lives were fairly normal I can't imagine this myself. They knew what was going on, however their love for their mother kept them fiercely loyal.


Conclusion: Like an episode of Law And Order, we see events unfold and lead toward a horrific crime, then the thorough work of prosecutors building their case. I found much of the book a suspenseful page turner.



--Cat    first posted in 2010    

Quick Review – The Apprentice

 
Published in 2002

Boston Detective Jane Rizzoli hunts for a serial killer whose gruesome method is disturbingly similar to that of imprisoned murderer The Surgeon. (pub'd 2001)

Rizzoli works hard to act as tough as her male colleagues, despite being haunted by the terror-filled moments she spent at the hands of the Surgeon before she captured him. Showing the weakness and vulnerability she often feels is not an option.

Complications arise when Rizzoli must work with FBI agent Gabriel Dean, and she battles both her belief he will usurp her role in the investigation as well as her burgeoning attraction to him.

A further complication-- and horror-- occurs when the crafty Surgeon escapes prison and it becomes apparent the two serial killers have become a team

When Rizzoli is captured by the unholy duo, I confess I almost expected the white knight (Gabriel Dean) to save her.

I'm so glad I was wrong. Rizzoli is the hero of her deadly predicament and she disposes of the vermin in a beautiful manner. I cheered!

Gerritsen is a superb writer. She has created a complex, easy-to-identify-with character in Jane Rizzoli. Forensic methods, investigative instruments, medical exams, are realistically presented in a thorough and interesting manner.

Conclusion: Compelling characters, a well-executed taut, suspenseful thriller






--Cat

Quick Review – Unspeakable

 

 

Published in 1999

The Players:

Two convicts, one E-V-I-L personified, the other a sad mental deficient, break out of prison and go on a vicious crime spree.

The slightly smarter brother of E-V-I-L, who joins in on the crimefest.

A small-town sheriff forced to retire, obsessed with the case he couldn't solve thirty years ago.

A gruff rancher who harbors a secret love for his widowed daughter-in-law.

Said daughter-in-law, a beautiful deaf woman, accomplished and self-sufficient, who has put her ambitions on hold and with her five year old son remains at the ranch from a sense of duty.

A rugged drifter with painful secrets

A slick banker who covets the rancher's land

Stereotypical characters aside, this is a suspenseful thriller with graphic violence and sex, remorseless cruelty and murder aplenty. Amidst the mayhem a tender love story emerges.

I had a slight problem with Brown's tendency to insert comprehensive past histories of minor characters, and the two-steps-forward-one-back approach as movement halts to detail a character's morning. Did some skimming, which is a shame as the book is well written.

And I can't define why, but I felt the drifter's big secret was, for want of a better word, bogus.

Conclusion: Not for the gentle reader. Stock characters in stock situations, redeemed by Brown's powerful writing.

--Cat

Quick Review HONEYMOON

Chosen 2005 International Thriller of the Year by the International Thriller Writers

The same organization named Patterson Thriller Master of 2007.


HONEYMOON follows an oft used plot, the beautiful Black Widow who marries rich then offs the husbands for their millions. An equally common plot addition is the handsome FBI agent who, while investigating the Widow, falls in lust with her, placing both his job and his life in jeopardy.

The chapters are short, two to three pages long, ensuring a fast pace, a fast read.

Patterson/Roughan give us the viewpoints of several different characters. The FBI agent, working undercover, is shown in both first person POV, and third. An interesting device to reveal character.

The beautiful villain is well drawn, and because of her traumatic childhood becomes an almost sympathetic character despite her deadly activities. She starts truly falling for the agent, but when she discovers she's been played no one seems safe. A black widow scorned...

An odd character, a killer identified as The Tourist appears in the book and his scenes seem unrelated to the Black Widow mystery. Later it becomes clear he is the hero/FBI agent working on another case at the same time.


There's also an unidentified female character following the Black Widow. My first guess as to her identity proved correct.


I expected a big showdown at the end between the agent and the widow, perhaps on a sailboat (per the cover). No such showdown. No sailboat, either. Sure, the widow is dispatched in the same gruesome manner she killed her men. But the end was a wee bit anticlimactic for me.


Conclusion: a good quick summer read. All's well that ends well.




--Cat

 

Quick Review – Daddy

  -
                                 





             Daddy
            by Loup Durand
            1987

            Translated from French by J. Maxwell Brownjohn

            This nifty, complex thriller is a true cat and mouse chase through
            France, Switzerland, and Germany in 1942. The cat, recruited by
            Nazis, is Gregor Laemmle, a brilliant, somewhat dissipated,
            philosopher, who has the German army and the French police at his
            disposal. The mouse is eleven year old multilingual genius Thomas
            von Gall. He has memorized bank codes that access 350 million
            dollars in gold hidden by Jews at the start of the war, money now
            coveted by the Germans. Laemmle is to do anything he must to find
            the boy.

            Thomas uses his superior brain to outwit Laemmle, a difficult task
            given the latter’s vast resources and his knack for foreseeing
            Thomas’s every move. Likening the hunt to a challenging chess game,
            with moves and countermoves, Laemmle bears a grudging respect for
            the talented boy, even grows to love him. After his beloved mother
            is killed in a trap, Thomas hates Laemmle with a fury he has never
            known

            Enter a third party with a vested interest in the situation:
            American David Quartermain, who received a letter from Thomas’s
            mother, informing him that the boy is his son and he may be the only
            one to save him. One of a large family, said to be America’s
            wealthiest, Quartermain has led the idle life of a rich, carefree
            playboy, and now must get involved in a serious quest that may kill
            him. He does an admirable job, as does Thomas, whose distrust of the
            American grows into respect, and finally love. Suspenseful twists
            and turns throughout lead to a satisfying ending.



            ~ Loup Durand, 1933-1995, first published at the age of forty-two.
            He wrote several French adventure novels under a pseudonym. Daddy
            became an instant bestseller in France.

            ~ A 1989 review in The New York Times took exception to the Indiana
            Jones/James Bond heroics David Quartermain displays. Some readers no
            doubt agree. Millions, however, loved this book. I count myself
            among the latter.

            ~ In 2003 a TV movie based on Daddy--Entrusted--was produced
            (UK/France).


            ~ Other Novels:

            The Angkor Massacre - 1983
            Jaguar - 1990
            The Grand Silence - 1994

Happy New Year!

                                     Welcome 2022! 

 

Quick review - Graveyard Shift

The seventh book of the Hope Sze medical mystery series is the first I read. I was hooked on page 1, an action packed scene in which the young resident doctor is nearly strangled by a psychotic drug addict screaming for her next fix.

The night gets wilder in the ER with an array of patients, some with simple ailments, some more complicated. Dr. Sze is nearly kidnapped, an ER doctor is murdered, threats are received.

Dr. Sze believes someone has it in for the busy Montréal hospital ER, and between working her diverse emergency cases she tries to determine this person's identity. Complicating matters is her frustration at the disappearance of a man she loves, and her uncertainty about other staff members.

I enjoyed the deep first person POV--the interior monologues gave me a "you are there" feeling. And I liked her explanation of the terms used for various ailments. There's humor among the pathos.

A definite page turner with a likable, complex main character. I'm going to start with the first book and read them all!

--Cat

Remembrance Day

     In Flanders Fields

     BY JOHN MCCRAE

     In Flanders fields the poppies blow

     Between the crosses, row on row,

         That mark our place; and in the sky

         The larks, still bravely singing, fly

     Scarce heard amid the guns below.

     We are the Dead. Short days ago

     We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

         Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

              In Flanders fields.

     Take up our quarrel with the foe:

     To you from failing hands we throw

           The torch; be yours to hold it high.

          If ye break faith with us who die

     We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

             In Flanders fields.  

--Cat

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Quick Review – Against the Storm

Against The storm by Kat Martin

The fourth book in a series, yet reading it as a stand-alone book is easy. I didn't find any requirement to read the previous books.

Beautiful redhead Maggie O'Connell is a prominent and popular Houston professional photographer with an annoying problem: a stalker whose penchant for leaving her messages has increased to an alarming level.

She hires handsome ex-Army Ranger security expert-private investigator Trace Rawlins to find the stalker and stop him before he can carry out his latest chilling promise – that soon he and Maggie will be together.

Maggie's life becomes infinitely more interesting when her younger sister, who she hasn't seen in years, shows up on her doorstep with a baby. On learning that her sister has escaped an abusive relationship and needs help, Maggie takes them in and discovers she has a strong protective streak.

Trace, whose weakness for redheads has always been his undoing, is wary about taking the job for Maggie, especially when he finds out she didn't tell him the truth about why Houston Police did not take her complaints seriously.

But he takes the case out of feelings of duty, all the while fighting both his distrust of Maggie and a strong attraction  to her. Maggie has an equally strong attraction to Trace, but is certain he is seeing someone else. She can't see a future for them.

As they go about searching for the stalker, planning to lure him into the open, they fight their attraction. Until they cannot any longer.

The stalker is caught, yet Maggie's life is still in danger. Her townhouse catches fire; all her camera equipment and computers are ruined. After some digging, they determine this new threat comes from something in one of her photographs, and they work together to catch the culprit.


Conclusion: well-written, fast-paced twisty suspense, lots of will-they-or-won't-they stay together anxiety, scads of steamy sex. The appearance of the sister with the baby makes a nice subplot, though her instant hookup with a kind, selfless young billionaire isn't easy to believe. Also, the reasons that Maggie and Trace initially distrust each other are flimsy. But there is much to enjoy here.

Quick review – The Butcher's Theater

The Butcher's Theater
by Jonathan Kellerman
1988

Said to be one of Kellerman’s best, most ambitious works, his fourth novel is huge, not in size but in its panoramic scope. Part police procedural, part suspense thriller, part intense analysis of a psychotic killer, the story plays out vividly in an exciting city seething with passionate racial, political, and religious differences.

When the mutilated body of a young Arab girl is discovered in the hills around Jerusalem, Chief Inspector David Sharavi and his crack team, a cross section of the rich ethnic composition of the city, swing into action. The mutilation-murder of a second Arab girl drives the press to focus on the political significance of the case, resulting in turmoil--an Arab-Jewish riot and more bloodshed. The investigation leads Sharavi through the darkest recesses of the sprawling city and of his own mind, before ending in a chilling showdown where he and the killer meet in a gruesome fight to the death.

Wonderfully detailed descriptions of the culture, history, and life in modern-day Jerusalem bring the city to vibrant life, as strong a character as those who inhabit the pages of this book.

Conclusion – I've read many Kellerman books, and this is my favorite. Great story, well told.

~ Jonathan Kellerman was born in New York City in 1949. He now lives in Los Angeles with his wife, mystery writer Faye Kellerman and their four children.

~ “I didn't want to do another book about Israel but I did bring Sharavi back in Survival of the Fittest as a fairly major character and I may bring him back again as a side protagonist in other books.” – from an interview on Bookreporter.com, May 2003

~ “Whether you're a writer creating fiction, or a musician, or a painter, the whole thing about being creative is doing something new. We call them novels for a reason: they're novel, they're new! I think creative people tend to have low tolerance for repetition. It gets boring. Thrown into the mix in my case is that there are a lot of built-in constraints to writing a series. There are limits to what I can do to Delaware [The Alex Delaware series]. I can stretch him up to a point but not past it. Given those limitations I'm always trying to move those boundaries and make things interesting.” – from an interview on Bookreporter.com, May 2003

~ Faye Kellerman on her husband’s work: "Jonathan's strength is his consistency in always writing a fantastic story, his ability to keep the story moving and his wonderful prose. He uses the perfect metaphor -- not five perfect metaphors. He's able to inject much more into his thrillers than the average thriller-writer because of his training as a psychologist and his keen insight into people." – from an interview on BookPage, Dec 2000

 

– Cat

Quick review - Silent Witness

Silent Witness  [A Dylan Scott Mystery]  by Shirley Wells



In Lancashire, England, Ex cop turned private investigator Dylan Scott is hired by the parents of a man they claim is unjustly serving a life sentence for murder. Once unjustly jailed himself, Scott is determined to find the truth and free the man, if indeed he is innocent.

And Aleksander Kaminski claims he's innocent, despite strong evidence that places him at the scene of his ex-wife's murder. Kaminski's second wife Sue supports the claims of her incarcerated husband, despite knowing he was still involved with his ex.

Scott's investigation turns up several suspects, and he diligently follows each lead. He discovers a complicated web of secrets, passions, self-delusions, and deceit that he must unravel to help the imprisoned man.

Interspersed with Scott's detective work is his sometimes strained relationship with his wife Bev, who has just had their second child and is suffering from postpartum depression. This is an honest and natural depiction of a husband and wife who love but often don't understand each other.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, apparently third in the series. Scott is a great character, likable, human, caring. The other characters are also well developed and given their chance to tell the story in their own unique points of view.

Great twist at the end – one I didn't see coming.

Conclusion: I read this book quickly – could not put it down for long, and found myself often thinking about it. I wanted Scott to solve it and set Kaminski free. I wanted Bev to bond with her baby, and all to be happy. Wonderful writing by Shirley Wells. I want to read more of her work, more about Dylan Scott.

--Cat

Quick review – A New Orleans Detective Mystery

A New Orleans Detective Mystery by Ken Mask

When three bodies are discovered, one after another, all murdered in the same gruesome manner, it appears a serial killer is on the loose. Detectives from the New Orleans Police Department enlist the help of private investigator Luke Jacobs and his team to catch the villain.

I normally dislike reading gobs of back story and the personal history of peripheral characters. Although there are many overlaps and repetitions, Ken Mask makes it fascinating, as he does with the history of the city. New Orleans and the characters who live and work there come alive from a writer who obviously loves his city.

Jacobs uses his above average smarts and common sense to solve the mystery, and delights in explaining everything, often in cryptic terms, to the detectives and his group.

Interesting story, told in an interesting way.

Summary: Although the ending – the unmasking of the killer – seemed abrupt I found the story intelligent and well told. 

– Cat

Quick review - Seaweed on the Rocks

Silas Seaweed, of the Coast Salish tribe, is a tough street cop in Victoria, BC. His investigation into the overdose death of a young native woman takes him from the mean streets of the city to the lofty mansions of the wealthy.

He works this way along gritty sidewalks where he knows most of the habitués, and pieces together a lucrative con that uses bits of native mythology to prey on the superstitions of wealthy people.

Silas untangles the web of deceit, solves a murder, and keeps the peace in his own way, all the while staying true to his rich heritage and the ways of his people.

The fourth of the series, Seaweed on the Rocks is a refreshingly different police story, with well-defined characters, and a unique lead.

Conclusion: an enjoyable mystery, made all the more fascinating by the interweaving of first Nations lore and customs.

-- Cat

Sherlock

I recently had the pleasure of watching both the first and the second seasons of the new Sherlock TV series.  Each season consisted of  [only!]  three 90 minute episodes.

Sherlock, produced for the BBC and the PBS Masterpiece anthology series, is the latest incarnation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective Sherlock Holmes.

This is a modern Sherlock, a distinctive Sherlock in that he is a self-described high functioning sociopath. Rare flashes of humanity are brought out by Dr. John Watson, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan.

The great consulting detective uses cell phones, the Internet, GPS, every latest gadget that he can. Dr. Watson writes his stories about Sherlock on a blog. There are familiar names from the original stories – Mrs. Hudson, DI Lestrade, Jim Moriarty, Mycroft Holmes, and the stories are loosely based on the originals.

The episodes are fast-paced, filled with action, and give us a fine picture of modern London. Fans, myself included, are happily awaiting the next season, slated for production in 2013. 

--Cat

Before we had The Mentalist, we had Poirot....

Death on the Nile

Agatha Christie's Poirot [filmed by the British company ITV in 2004]

The inimitable Hercule Poirot, played to eccentric perfection by David Suchet, embarks on a Nile cruise along with the usual assortment of friends, family, and strangers, all harboring deadly secrets. Passengers are murdered and Poirot takes charge of the investigation.

It's fun watching him delve into the psyches of those on the list of suspects. The inevitable meeting of all the interested parties, an Agatha Christie mystery staple, concludes with Poirot laying bare everyone's secrets and ferreting out the killer. A dramatic confession follows.

Filmed on location in Egypt, the show boasts stunning cinematography and artistic scenes. Some awe-inspiring moments.

– Cat

Masterpiece Mystery - Case Histories

I recently enjoyed watching the first season, three two-hour episodes, of the detective drama Case Histories on PBS's Masterpiece Theater.

Jackson Brodie is an Edinburgh ex-policeman turned private detective. Not only is he good at his job, he's good period, a tough guy with a heart of gold who finds his personal values tested by all the cases that come his way. A traumatic childhood incident haunts him and deeply affects everything he does.

Based on novels by award-winning British author Kate Atkinson, the episodes were filmed on location in Scotland. I found this series a perfect blend of quirky characters, unpredictable mystery and atmospheric locale, and look forward to the next season.

Trailer for the series:



--Cat

Pretty vs Gritty

Yes, it's time I left a post.

If only life and other things did not intrude.

Haven't read an engrossing mystery for a while. Must remedy that.

I do want to mention I've been watching Knowledge Network's airing of two long-running British series: 1990s episodes of A Touch of Frost, and early 2000s episodes of Dalziel and Pascoe.

No one does gritty police dramas like the British. (Cracker, I loved you!)

NYPD Blue came close. I watched it from first episode to last, 20+ years. There may be other American-produced shows that compete -- I don't watch them all. I find many are just plain pretty -- the people, the settings, the colors.

Not saying pretty is bad -- I watch a few of these shows. But, if I had to choose just one, I'd pick gritty.

--Cat