A REVIEW PER DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY



I’m way behind in my list of scheduled reviews, so I’m writing six shorter ones this week, one per day --what about a week having seven days, you ask? I’ll tell you in the next paragraph. (At least I'll aim for one per day, if I skip one day I'll make it up with two on another day). Don’t go thinking these books are not worth longer reviews though; they are definitely worth it and the money you’ll spend buying them will be an investment towards many great hours of reading.

 

On Sunday, I have rookie Eva Dolan’s Long Way Home (Harvill Secker/Random House UK), on Monday, Michael J. Malone’s The Guillotine Choice (Contraband), on Tuesday, Eliot Pattison’s Original Death (Counterpoint Press), on Wednesday, John McFetridge’s Black Rock (ECW Press), and on the following days, it will be reviews of recently published French translations: on Thursday, Michael Robotham’s Déroute (JC Lattès) and finally, on Friday, Michael Connelly’s Le cinquième témoin (Calmann-Lévy). These two were originally published as The Wreckage (Mulholland) and The Fifth Witness (Little, Brown). 

 

In total, we have one Brit, one Scot, two Yanks, an Aussie, and a Canuck. Sounds like the beginning of a joke, right? Well, if you don’t read them, the joke’s on you.

 

As for day seven of the week, next Saturday, I’ll be posting my review of Michael Koryta’s Those Who Wish Me Dead (Little, Brown), along with a short Q&A. I wanted to post it last week but decided to wait until May 31^st, which is closer to the book’s publication date of June 3^rd. Also, at some point during the week, I’ll review I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes (Atria), a book that is getting a lot of buzz. I’m only at page 100 at the moment, but so far it is holding up to its high expectations.

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OK, ladies first. Eva Dolan’s Long Way Home reads like a story written by a seasoned author. It is everything that many debut novels are not: the writing is tight, well-paced, and intelligent; the plot is original and the characters behave like real human beings. The duo of investigators, DI Zigic and DI Ferreira, work for the Hate Crimes Unit, something we haven’t seen much in crime fiction.

The first victim is a migrant worker who seems to have been beaten unconscious before being burned alive in a small shed. For Zigic, Ferreira and their entire team, gaining the trust of the community is the first obstacle to overcome if they want to obtain information and thus work the case effectively. We’ll follow them through every step of the investigation, their tasks at work, and also into their personal lives.

Dolan’s narration expertly tracks the characters’s perspectives to help us understand them, their frustrations and motivations, their fears and dilemmas; she also gives them distinct voices and great dialogue while creating interactions that move the plot forward. Their inner-thoughts are also often rendered with a great visual touch, as in this excerpt: There were many boxes in her head, all tightly locked and shoved away in the dark. Over time some of them fused and she was spared the memories she didn’t want to face, but others corroded and leaked, snatches of conversations and strange faces swimming up unexpectedly, provoked by the smell of a certain tobacco or a snatch of music on the radio. Others snapped open without warning and slapped her between the eyes.

The plot, which can at first seem a little light, becomes gradually more complex as other events complicate the investigation. The reader quickly finds himself hooked into it all until the very end. Great for fans of Mark Billingham. I want more stories with Zigic and Ferreira. But more specifically, I want more books by Eva Dolan.

Rating: 3 1/2 thumbprints

Eva Dolan has a blog here, and you can find her sometimes on Facebook or Twitter at @eva_dolan. 

JF

May 25th

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NATCHEZ BURNING by Greg ILES (a review)

(This is part of a TLC Book Tour)

 

Natchez Burning is an ambitious novel (the first of a trilogy) of close to 800 pages, and to make it justice I would need to write a much longer review, almost an analysis or a short thesis. I don't have the time to do this, and you certainly wouldn't be interested in reading it either. But for those who don't want to read even a short review and are only interested in knowing if a book is good or not, well, hell yeah this is a great novel! Go buy it without waiting for my (or anyone else's) assessment of it. With Natchez Burning, Greg Iles has written a memorable saga that is both suspenseful and engrossing; it kept me awake when I should have been asleep, and it held my interest even during my favourite team's (the Montréal Canadiens) playoffs games (which can also be filled with very stressful moments).

 

Natchez Burning is for anyone who enjoys a story that goes back and forth in time and in different eras. This is for those who enjoy a novel filled with rich, realistic characters that seem to move on their own and leap out of the page; and also for anyone who enjoys a quest for the truth and for justice, whatever the era or the country.

 

In Iles's novel, Penn Cage, lawyer and mayor of Natchez (Mississippi), wants to help his father, Doctor Tom Cage, who's accused of the recent murder of Viola Turner, a former nurse who worked with him in the 1960s. She was black, he's white; they might have had an affair, and possibly a child together. Penn needs to find the truth about his father's past. The problem? Doctor Cage doesn't want his son's help; instead, he calls on an old friend from his time in Korea as a war medic.

 

Mixed in all of this is the story of Henry Sexton, a journalist who spent his entire career researching events from Natchez's darkest time, when the Ku Klux Klan was still very much active. The KKK, which objective was mostly regional, in Mississippi, spawned a group called The Double Eagles; these men, who fought for the US during the Korean War, were looking at a much bigger picture. They played a greater role in the scheme of things; taking the law into their own hands, they took control everywhere they wanted to, always receiving support and some direction from those with money and ambition.

 

Through the years, Henry Sexton has amassed thousands of pages of information, plus many interviews and photos linking these influential business men, politicians, and cops to racial murders. They let him because he was a small time journalist and while he sometimes wrote articles about Natchez's past, he never implicated anyone specifically. He was waiting for all the clues that would unearth the whole chain of events, implicating everyone, the 'big guys' at the top included; then he would write his big story. So he was never a threat to anyone until recent events uncovered some crucial elements that can now complete his research. He's just become a threat; but the Double Eagles know how to deal with a threat.

 

I can't say more. And I haven't told you the half of it. At close to 800 pages, I found that a few parts could have been edited out, mostly where some info is passed on the reader more than once (or where the urgency of Doctor Cage's situation is underlined a little too much). Aside from that, Iles shows his writing abilities by describing the worst and the best of what humans are capable of; from scenes of extreme violence to the beautiful narration of a love story. You'll be swept up by the passion of Iles's writing, and you'll be emotionnally involved in the story through its themes of racism, of greed, of love, and of justice. One of the more complete novels I've read in the past five years.

If the next two books of the trilogy are as good as this one, the series will become a classic.

 

Rating: 4 thumbprints

Rating system:

1 = not good (but you won't see many of those because I hate wasting time on negativity)
2 = not bad (but one or two major flaws; I probably wouldn't recommend reading it)
3 = great book (some flaws but none major)
4 = very entertaining (missing a little something to make it 5)
5 = excellent (will become a classic on my list of all-time favourites)

 

You can visit Greg Iles on his website, on Facebook or Twitter, etc.

 

JF

May 19th

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AMERICAN WOMAN by Robert POBI (review and giveaway)

Even though I really enjoyed Robert Pobi's Bloodman (aka Eye of the Storm) and Mannheim Rex, I wasn't sure I wanted -or needed, for that matter- to read a novel about a serial killer of kids. Fortunately, Pobi knows how to write and how to tell a story; he doesn't go for the melodramatic and he doesn't try to horrify with blood on every page. That's not saying you won't be troubled by the horrific murders -there are details on how the bodies were maimed and butchered- but Pobi doesn't dwell on them.

The focus is put on the search for the killer and on the many characters, especially the parents of the victims, but the most interesting one is Alexandra Hemingway, the NYPD detective who is leading the investigation. Unsure of how to react to the news of her (unplanned) pregnancy, 'Hem' is still trying to understand recent, dramatic events in her life and coping with the repercussions that have shaken her to the core. Plunging deeply into the darkness of a vicious killer won't help but we certainly understand her and why she finds it difficult to face her future as a mother. The eternal question "why should I bring a child into this violent world" can seem like a cliché (and it might be one) but when you deal with this violence on a day-to-day basis, as Hem does, the question definitely needs to be examined.

The chase for the serial killer will be exhausting for 'Hem' and the entire police department as well as for the reader. Pobi presents a vast and interesting cast of characters; you will come to know them well and understand their motivations. Many will even end up on your list of suspects. Be prepared to be shocked by the murders, but also by the ending of the book. One of the things I admire about Pobi is that he never goes for the easy resolution that will satisfy everyone; he seems to enjoy keeping the readers on their toes and leaving them with more questions than answers.

If you like edgy crime fiction that doesn't shy away from reality checks, Pobi is now a name to add to your list of essential reads. I guarantee that you will at least be entertained.

Rating: 3 1/2 thumbprints

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UPDATE, WINNERS ANNOUNCED:  Paul Levine of Scottsdale, Arizona; Mary Bouchard of Ottawa, Ontario; and Luke Thornton of Plattsburgh, New York. Congrats, and thank you to everyone who participated, your books are in the mail.

I have three signed copies of Robert Pobi's novel Eye of the Storm (previously published as Bloodman). Send me an email at housecrimyst@gmail.com for a chance to win. Giveaway ends on Saturday, May 17th, at noon (Montréal time). You can read my review of this book here.

For more information on Robert Pobi and his books, visit his website here.

Thanks for reading!

JF
May 11th

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UNDER A SILENT MOON by Elizabeth HAYNES (a review)

(This review is part of a TLC Blog Tour; I've just realised that I'm posting this one day late, so I apologize. Very sorry!).

Polly Leuchars, 29 years old, is found dead in a cottage, so badly beaten that part of her head is missing and there's blood everywhere. On the same night, not far from there, at the bottom of a quarry, the body of Barbara Fletcher-Norman, 58, is discovered in her car. Polly and Barbara knew each other; they were practically neighbours. Polly's blood was found on Barbara's clothing. When learning about his wife's death, Brian Fletcher-Norman has a heart attack and almost dies; police find some blood in the Fletcher-Norman's kitchen, plus they will also try to determine who are behind the many phone calls placed from different phones, in various locations in the vicinity of the crime scenes. Then gossip in the village blurs the picture. Or does it? Who could have wanted these women dead? And why? 

I was a fan of Elizabeth Haynes even before she was published here in North America. Her first book, Into the Darkest Corner, had been available for about a month or so, in the UK, when a visitor at the House of Crime & Mystery decided I should read it. She sent me a copy across the Atlantic ocean and she said "Elizabeth Haynes is not very well-known yet, but I guarantee you she will soon". Maybe not her exact words, but something to that effect. She was right and I wish I could remember her name now to thank her properly.

Haynes then went on to publish two more books (Revenge of the Tide --or Dark Tide, in the US & Canada-- and Human Remains my favorite so far). These helped to prove that she was for real, and legitimately take her place in the crime fiction world. The three books are standalones and, although they share some similarities, are very different in many ways; you might enjoy one and then maybe dislike another one (but I'd really be surprised). One thing I can guarantee, they won't leave you indifferent. The themes --relationships, domestic abuse, solitude, extreme behaviours, etc.-- are intelligently treated and very much at the center of each book. The characters are poignant, complex and richly drawn; Haynes demonstrates a strength that is too often lacking in novels in general, which is strong characterization created with heartfelt sensitivity. She respects all of her characters and wants us to understand them, the 'good' as well as the 'bad' --even though they can't often be as easily categorized, living as they are in the grey zone in-between. 

Back to the book that concerns us today, Under a Silent Moon. Haynes's fourth story is the start of a series starring DCI Louisa Smith. She is at the center of the investigation but the novel is all over the place (in a good way), presenting the reader with different point of views, as much from within the police department as from civilians who knew the victims in one way or another.

Two women are found dead, one evidently murdered while the other seems to have killed herself. They knew each other and lived in the same neighbourhood. Are the deaths related? Is there more than one killer? Why did they die on that same night "under a silent moon'?

Elizabeth Haynes here shows some of the qualities present in her three previous novels, but the characters are the real interest in this one. Relationships, attitudes, and work habits within the police department are interesting enough to want to know more about DCI Smith and the other detectives and cops; the other characters help to define who were the victims, but also to complicate the guessing game around the reasons for their violent deaths. One of the author's good ideas here is the use of police paperwork (witnesses statements, intelligence reports, etc.) that adds another dash of reality into the story. 

Personally, I prefer to get to know the characters before they die; when a book starts off with victims I've never read about it keeps me a little too distant from the story. I don't feel involved. Of course, that's the way it happens most of the times with detectives in real life; hopefully they are not related to the victims, so they need to get to know them in order to find out how and why they died. Especially the 'why'.

In fiction, the writer's job is to make the mystery intriguing enough to grab the reader's attention. Then, in my case at least, the writer needs to get the reader to care for the victims by telling him (or even better, by showing him) who they were. Many readers of mysteries will enjoy the investigation and maybe find an added interest by trying to solve the case before the end of the book. Not me. The ensemble of characters who are running the story, and driving the intrigue forward towards its resolution is what hooks me. Fortunately, Haynes does it really well here; a good thing because I didn't care enough for her two victims. Plus, the mystery, while not being that obvious, wasn't very difficult to solve either. But Haynes's cast of characters is diverse, well-balanced and interesting; that's what kept me reading and why I am looking forward to reading her next novel.

Rating: 3 1/2 thumbprints (see my rating system in the Review Room).

For more on Elizabeth Haynes, check-out her website (interesting posts about her writing, some choices she made in her stories, etc.). She's also present on various social media like Facebook, Twitter, and others.

And for other opinions than mine about Under a Silent Moon, visit the TLC Blog Tour website here.

Thanks for visiting.

JF
April 29th, 2014

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THE DARK SIDE TOUR and FREE BOOKS

 

MARCH MADNESS (and APRIL too) - CANADIAN VERSION

Simon & Schuster Canada is sending seven of its best authors on tour, this spring.

All events are free to attend, and, depending on the event, there'll be three or four authors present. The authors are Deryn Collier (Confined Space, Open Secrets), Craig Davidson (The Troop written as Nick Cutter, Rust and Bone, etc.), Jennifer Hillier (Creep, Freak, The Butcher), Robert Pobi (Eye of the Storm formerly Bloodman, Mannheim Rex, etc.), Andrew Pyper (The Demonologist, Lost Girls, The Killing Season, etc.), Sean Slater (Snakes and Ladders, The Guilty, etc.), and Brad Smith (Shoot the Dog, Crow's Landing, One-Eyed Jacks, etc.).

I'll be attending the event in Ottawa on Friday, March 21st, at 7 pm. The event will be hosted by author Peggy Blair (The Beggar's Opera, The Poisoned Pawn), and guests for that evening will be Robert Pobi, Craig Davidson/Nick Cutter, and Andrew Pyper. For the full list of events, a sweepstake, and more info about the authors and their books, visit The Dark Side website here.

As a bonus, you can also visit Grooveshark to listen to The Dark Side Tour playlist, as chosen by Deryn Collier (here), Craig Davidson (here), Jennifer Hillier (here), and Robert Pobi (here).

GIVEAWAY

UPDATE: We have a winner and it is Marjorie Roy, of Woodstock (Ontario). Simon & Schuster Canada will send her the books. Thank you to everyone who participated and thanks for visiting. The last event of the tour was held last night in Waterloo (Ontario). From what I hear the tour was a success. Stay tuned for a new giveaway later today.      JF April 24th, 2014

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Thanks to Simon & Schuster Canada, one lucky visitor to The House of Crime & Mystery will receive a set of seven books: Collier's Confined Space, Cutter's The Troop, Hillier's Freak, Pobi's Eye of the Storm, Pyper's The Demonologist, Slater's The Guilty, and Smith's Shoot the Dog.
If you're interested to win these great books, send me your name and full address at housecrimyst@gmail.com This giveaway is open to residents of Canada only, and participants need to be 18 years or older.

 

Bonne chance!
I hope to meet some of you in Ottawa.

JF
March 2014

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HOME IMPROVEMENT & MOVING ON








Blogger is great but it has too many glitches and bugs that make me go a little crazy (and very frustrated). After much debating, I've finally decided to start working on a brand-new website instead of trying to keep improving this blog, which didn't really respond to my needs; I had to constantly adapt myself to it, instead of adapting it to what I wanted to do.

I'm hoping to announce the opening of the new site somewhere around late March or early April. In the meantime, I'll still be using this blog. I see it as moving from an apartment to a house. It will still be called The House of Crime & Mystery, of course. I think it'll look great and be more user friendly, both for myself and for visitors. I hope you'll like it.

Thank you for your patience and for your continued support. It's all done for one purpose: the promotion of books and writers.


à bientôt,

JF
March 8th, 2014

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