ALIBI (Myst-Adam Miller-Venice-1946) – Standalone – Jospeh Kanon It is 1946, and Adam Miller has come to Venice to visit his widowed mother and try to forget the horrors he has witnessed as a U.S. Army war crimes investigator in Germany. But when he falls in love with Claudia, a Jewish woman scarred by her devastating experiences during World War II, he is forced to confront another Venice, a city still at war with itself, haunted by atrocities it would rather forget. Everyone, including his mother's suave new Venetian suitor, has been compromised by the occupation, and Adam finds himself at the center of a web of deception, intrigue, and unexpected moral dilemmas.
Don – DNF – He tried it but didn’t like it. Gabriel – Okay/DNF - It also didn't grab me enough to keep me reading after a few chapters. Subject was quite interesting, setting was interesting and hasn't been done much--Venice immediately after WWII. The mother was aggravating, in an interesting way. The writing was kind of literary--felt more like a "serious novel" than a mystery. I'm not sure why it didn't keep me reading. Maybe because the mystery took so long to appear. Ginny – DNW - The location of Venice set up the story to draw me into reading the book even though I do not like to read stories set it post WWII. Sadly, I found the pace too slow. And though the characters were developed well, the love story and mystery was lackluster. Nancy – VG - The book was a psychological thriller, as well as an analysis of human nature as well as being an excellent mystery story. Each of the characters rang true for me, particularly the great lengths each one went through, using lies and pretense, in order to rationalize all the bad they had actually done throughout their lives. But Rosa was my political hero. And Claudia particularly spoke to me as well because she went through the war experiencing things that I’ve learned about my whole life. In summation, ‘Albi’ was a good book because it told a real story with depth and clarity and without using cliches to do it. Ron – Ex - This book is, hands down, my favorite mystery thriller ever. The psychological depth of the characters is exceptional, the prose is wonderful, each character is well delineated, and the moral ambiguity felt real-to-life. It makes the reader wonder how he or she would have acted to survive under the pressure of a fascist regime. The arc of the protagonist, from a wealthy young man with his entire life open to him, through the shocking event at the center of the book, to becoming constrained in ways he never could have imagined. It made me think of the psyche of the character Raskolnikov in Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment. I also loved the true-to-life setting in Venice just after the end of World War II where the author makes the reader feels like he’s actually there. It’s a book one should be patient with as the key event happens about half-way through.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE - Good
VOICES (PolProc-Inspe. Eriendur-Iceland-Contemp) – 3rd in series – Arnaldur Indriðason The Christmas rush is at its peak in a grand Reykjavík hotel when Inspector Erlendur Sveinsson is called in to investigate a murder. The hotel Santa has been stabbed, and Erlendur and his detective colleagues have no shortage of suspects between hotel staff and the international travelers staying for the holidays. But then a shocking secret surfaces. As Christmas Day approaches, Erlendur must deal with his difficult daughter, pursue a possible romantic interest, and untangle a long-buried web of malice and greed to find the murderer.
Charlotte – Good – Read it. It took awhile to get into it. She liked it more as she read it. Corona – Okay – She has read this character before. It’s well written, the story is good, and she appreciated that there were some read conversations. Don – VG – Great tory, character development and setting. Author always tells a good story; protagonist is quirky and flawed Gabriel – DNF - I didn't get into it, and didn't finish it. It wasn't bad, but not very interesting. I did find the choice of victim interesting--a Santa Claus. I liked that the detective didn't have any dead family members, unusual for this kind of glum mystery. He did have a troubled daughter with lots of behavior problems, but she wasn't dead. Ron – Good - Well written with an interesting premise concerning what happens to a child prodigy after he loses his talent, but I didn’t particularly care about any of the characters, including the protagonist.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE - Good
A LITTER OF BONES (PolProc-DCI Logan-Scotland-Contemp) – 1st in series – J.D. Kirk Ten years ago, DCI Jack Logan stopped the serial child-killer dubbed 'Mister Whisper,' earning himself a commendation, a drinking problem, and a broken marriage in the process. Now, he spends his days working in Glasgow's Major Investigations Team, and his nights reliving the horrors of what he saw. And what he did. When another child disappears a hundred miles north in the Highlands, Jack is sent to lead the investigation and bring the boy home. But as similarities between the two cases grow, could it be that Jack caught the wrong man all those years ago? And, if so, is the real Mister Whisper about to claim his fourth victim?
Corona – Good - Like the setting. She listened to part of it on audio and loved that the narrator was Scottish. Liked Logan’s teammates. Didn’t like that is was an old case that came back to haunt him. Don – Good – Good story; enjoyed the plot and dialogue. LJ – Ex - A straight-through, non-stop read filled with great characters, action, suspense, emotional impact, twists, and just enough humor for balance. There are no portents, just a wicked good story that keeps on turning the pages. It is dark, and there are scenes unpleasant to read, yet the positive qualities outweigh the negative and compel one to read the next book. Ron – VG - Well-told story, with interesting characters. It held my interest throughout.
It is 1946, and Adam Miller has come to Venice to visit his widowed mother and try to forget the horrors he has witnessed as a U.S. Army war crimes investigator in Germany. But when he falls in love with Claudia, a Jewish woman scarred by her devastating experiences during World War II, he is forced to confront another Venice, a city still at war with itself, haunted by atrocities it would rather forget. Everyone, including his mother's suave new Venetian suitor, has been compromised by the occupation, and Adam finds himself at the center of a web of deception, intrigue, and unexpected moral dilemmas.
Don – DNF – He tried it but didn’t like it.
Gabriel – Okay/DNF - It also didn't grab me enough to keep me reading after a few chapters. Subject was quite interesting, setting was interesting and hasn't been done much--Venice immediately after WWII. The mother was aggravating, in an interesting way. The writing was kind of literary--felt more like a "serious novel" than a mystery. I'm not sure why it didn't keep me reading. Maybe because the mystery took so long to appear.
Ginny – DNW - The location of Venice set up the story to draw me into reading the book even though I do not like to read stories set it post WWII. Sadly, I found the pace too slow. And though the characters were developed well, the love story and mystery was lackluster.
Nancy – VG - The book was a psychological thriller, as well as an analysis of human nature as well as being an excellent mystery story. Each of the characters rang true for me, particularly the great lengths each one went through, using lies and pretense, in order to rationalize all the bad they had actually done throughout their lives. But Rosa was my political hero. And Claudia particularly spoke to me as well because she went through the war experiencing things that I’ve learned about my whole life. In summation, ‘Albi’ was a good book because it told a real story with depth and clarity and without using cliches to do it.
Ron – Ex - This book is, hands down, my favorite mystery thriller ever. The psychological depth of the characters is exceptional, the prose is wonderful, each character is well delineated, and the moral ambiguity felt real-to-life. It makes the reader wonder how he or she would have acted to survive under the pressure of a fascist regime. The arc of the protagonist, from a wealthy young man with his entire life open to him, through the shocking event at the center of the book, to becoming constrained in ways he never could have imagined. It made me think of the psyche of the character Raskolnikov in Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment. I also loved the true-to-life setting in Venice just after the end of World War II where the author makes the reader feels like he’s actually there. It’s a book one should be patient with as the key event happens about half-way through.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE - Good
VOICES (PolProc-Inspe. Eriendur-Iceland-Contemp) – 3rd in series – Arnaldur Indriðason
The Christmas rush is at its peak in a grand Reykjavík hotel when Inspector Erlendur Sveinsson is called in to investigate a murder. The hotel Santa has been stabbed, and Erlendur and his detective colleagues have no shortage of suspects between hotel staff and the international travelers staying for the holidays. But then a shocking secret surfaces. As Christmas Day approaches, Erlendur must deal with his difficult daughter, pursue a possible romantic interest, and untangle a long-buried web of malice and greed to find the murderer.
Charlotte – Good – Read it. It took awhile to get into it. She liked it more as she read it.
Corona – Okay – She has read this character before. It’s well written, the story is good, and she appreciated that there were some read conversations.
Don – VG – Great tory, character development and setting. Author always tells a good story; protagonist is quirky and flawed
Gabriel – DNF - I didn't get into it, and didn't finish it. It wasn't bad, but not very interesting. I did find the choice of victim interesting--a Santa Claus. I liked that the detective didn't have any dead family members, unusual for this kind of glum mystery. He did have a troubled daughter with lots of behavior problems, but she wasn't dead.
Ron – Good - Well written with an interesting premise concerning what happens to a child prodigy after he loses his talent, but I didn’t particularly care about any of the characters, including the protagonist.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE - Good
A LITTER OF BONES (PolProc-DCI Logan-Scotland-Contemp) – 1st in series – J.D. Kirk
Ten years ago, DCI Jack Logan stopped the serial child-killer dubbed 'Mister Whisper,' earning himself a commendation, a drinking problem, and a broken marriage in the process. Now, he spends his days working in Glasgow's Major Investigations Team, and his nights reliving the horrors of what he saw. And what he did. When another child disappears a hundred miles north in the Highlands, Jack is sent to lead the investigation and bring the boy home. But as similarities between the two cases grow, could it be that Jack caught the wrong man all those years ago? And, if so, is the real Mister Whisper about to claim his fourth victim?
Corona – Good - Like the setting. She listened to part of it on audio and loved that the narrator was Scottish. Liked Logan’s teammates. Didn’t like that is was an old case that came back to haunt him.
Don – Good – Good story; enjoyed the plot and dialogue.
LJ – Ex - A straight-through, non-stop read filled with great characters, action, suspense, emotional impact, twists, and just enough humor for balance. There are no portents, just a wicked good story that keeps on turning the pages. It is dark, and there are scenes unpleasant to read, yet the positive qualities outweigh the negative and compel one to read the next book.
Ron – VG - Well-told story, with interesting characters. It held my interest throughout.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE - VG