Buried (Pol. Proc-Det. Tom Thorne-England-Cont) - 6th in series - Mark Billingham Andrea - G+ - (Reading "The Burning Girl" instead) - There were a whole lot of Britishisms which made it hard. It was so geographically localized, you missed a lot. She did like Thorne. It is a gripping read and she is enjoying it. Charlotte - Okay - For most of the book, she enjoyed it, but felt the end was awful and unbelievable. the book was entertaining and exciting but the ending ruined it for her. She'd have given most of the book a rating of "Good," and the ending "NR," which dropped her rating to "Okay." LJ - G+ - Billingham is great at creating a tight, twisty plot that, starts slow but, once you get into it, keeps you involved all the way through. He switches points of view in a way that is easy to follow and which heightens the suspense of the story. His sense of place is good and the dialogue crisp. It did have an ending I did not see coming, which was great. What is lacking, to me, and has been through the series, is character development. I don’t feel I have a real sense of Thorne, at least not enough to care about him or have the same sense of involvement I have for other similar characters. I still have a couple more books of the series on my shelves and I shall read them, but I don’t see myself going forward with this series beyond that.
The Fire Baby (Unlic. Invest-Philip Dryden-England-Cont) - 2nd in series - Jim Kelly Charlotte - G - Charlotte did a lot more skimming in this book. She found it very intriguing, but was annoyed by the ending as she felt the secrets were too contrived. It was hard to get into, the she really enjoyed it but was annoyed by the end." LJ - VG - I have rapidly become a fan of Kelly’s writing. It takes a touch of work to follow him through the maze of plots and subplots he creates, but it’s a very enjoyable journey. I am thoroughly fascinated with his three main characters; Dryden, the journalist and husband; Laura, his comatose wife; and Humph, Dryden’s driver who has a ready supply of airplane-sized liquor bottles and listens to foreign language tapes. What I most appreciate is the way Kelly takes all the threads of his story and brings you to a dramatic and satisfying place at the end. I am definitely looking forward to continuing with this author.
When the Devil Holds the Candle (Pol. Proc-Insp. Konrad Sejer-Norway-Cont) - 3rd in series - Karin Fossum Andrea - DNF - Hates it and won't finish it. Everything was horrid. Charlotte - OK/Poor - Psychological thriller. It was so different and so strange. It was a novel, not a mystery. Corona - NR - Horrible, an awful story written well. LJ - OK - This was the first I’ve read of the series and it took me awhile to get into it. Fossum has an unusual style. Sejer actually has quite a small role in this story, where Irma, Zipp and Andreas are the central, and exceedingly unpleasant, protagonists. I began by not having sympathy for any of them, but Fossum is so skilled that she turns the story in such a way that, while I didn’t like the characters, I had to see where she was taking us within the story, all the way to the unexpected twist at the end. The story was uncomfortable yet compelling. Although I did have a problem with a couple major coincidences, I couldn’t turn away. I wouldn’t say I enjoyed this book, but I absolutely respect Fossum’s incredible talent in writing it.
Andrea - G+ - (Reading "The Burning Girl" instead) - There were a whole lot of Britishisms which made it hard. It was so geographically localized, you missed a lot. She did like Thorne. It is a gripping read and she is enjoying it.
Charlotte - Okay - For most of the book, she enjoyed it, but felt the end was awful and unbelievable. the book was entertaining and exciting but the ending ruined it for her. She'd have given most of the book a rating of "Good," and the ending "NR," which dropped her rating to "Okay."
LJ - G+ - Billingham is great at creating a tight, twisty plot that, starts slow but, once you get into it, keeps you involved all the way through. He switches points of view in a way that is easy to follow and which heightens the suspense of the story. His sense of place is good and the dialogue crisp. It did have an ending I did not see coming, which was great. What is lacking, to me, and has been through the series, is character development. I don’t feel I have a real sense of Thorne, at least not enough to care about him or have the same sense of involvement I have for other similar characters. I still have a couple more books of the series on my shelves and I shall read them, but I don’t see myself going forward with this series beyond that.
The Fire Baby (Unlic. Invest-Philip Dryden-England-Cont) - 2nd in series - Jim Kelly
Charlotte - G - Charlotte did a lot more skimming in this book. She found it very intriguing, but was annoyed by the ending as she felt the secrets were too contrived. It was hard to get into, the she really enjoyed it but was annoyed by the end."
LJ - VG - I have rapidly become a fan of Kelly’s writing. It takes a touch of work to follow him through the maze of plots and subplots he creates, but it’s a very enjoyable journey. I am thoroughly fascinated with his three main characters; Dryden, the journalist and husband; Laura, his comatose wife; and Humph, Dryden’s driver who has a ready supply of airplane-sized liquor bottles and listens to foreign language tapes. What I most appreciate is the way Kelly takes all the threads of his story and brings you to a dramatic and satisfying place at the end. I am definitely looking forward to continuing with this author.
When the Devil Holds the Candle (Pol. Proc-Insp. Konrad Sejer-Norway-Cont) - 3rd in series - Karin Fossum
Andrea - DNF - Hates it and won't finish it. Everything was horrid.
Charlotte - OK/Poor - Psychological thriller. It was so different and so strange. It was a novel, not a mystery.
Corona - NR - Horrible, an awful story written well.
LJ - OK - This was the first I’ve read of the series and it took me awhile to get into it. Fossum has an unusual style. Sejer actually has quite a small role in this story, where Irma, Zipp and Andreas are the central, and exceedingly unpleasant, protagonists. I began by not having sympathy for any of them, but Fossum is so skilled that she turns the story in such a way that, while I didn’t like the characters, I had to see where she was taking us within the story, all the way to the unexpected twist at the end. The story was uncomfortable yet compelling. Although I did have a problem with a couple major coincidences, I couldn’t turn away. I wouldn’t say I enjoyed this book, but I absolutely respect Fossum’s incredible talent in writing it.