TITLE: THE DEAD PLACE
AUTHOR: STEPHEN BOOTH
Pages: 597
Date: 27/02/2009
Grade: 5
Details: no. 6 Cooper and Fry Mystery
Library
For the longest time this appeared to be a murderless mystery, which is quite an interesting idea, and worked really well. I can't say I missed the corpse(s) at all. At no point did the lack of a murder make this book less fascinating, rather the opposite really. The question as to whether or not a murder had been or would be committed was as intriguing as the traditional question of "who did it" would have been
D.S. Diane Fry is investigating two anonymous phone calls that talk about death, a dead place and an imminent murder. But since it's not clear if this is a real threat, her resources are limited.
At the same time, Ben Cooper is trying to discover the identity of a fully decomposed body that has been found in what turns out to be a case of body snatching; but by whom and why?
As always, Booth's story has lots of seemingly separate elements, which all come together beautifully in the end.
TITLE: KEEPING THE DEAD
AUTHOR: TESS GERRITSEN
Pages: 349
Date: 24/02/2009
Grade: 5
Details: no. 7 Rizzoli and Isles Thriller
Library
A mummy has been found in the cellar of a museum. Dr. Maura Isles is present when the mummy goes through a CT scan, only to call in detective Jane Rizzoli when the supposedly old mummy has a very modern bullet inside her.
It is soon discovered that the mummified woman must have been killed in recent times, after having been kept prisoner and tortured.
When a second preserved modern body is found it becomes clear that Rizzoli and Isles are dealing with a depraved killer. Someone who is still actively stalking women and is somehow connected to the museum where the mummy was found and the beautiful archaeologist working there. But Dr. Josephine Pulcillo is a mysterious woman with secrets she means to keep, although they do leave her in terrible danger.
I do like the books in this series a lot more than Gerritsen's other novels. I don't know if that is because of familiarity with the characters or for some other reason, but whereas the non-series books tend to leave me somewhat dissatisfied, this series pushes all the right buttons for me.
This book finishes with Tess Gerritsen sharing the real life murder mystery in her community that inspired her to write mysteries. And it is as fascinating as her fiction is, even if the outcome is less polished or satisfying than you'd get in a novel.
TITLE: BIRD IN THE SNOW
AUTHOR: MICHAEL HARDING
Pages: 197
Date: 22/02/2009
Grade: 3
Details: Reading Group Book for February
Library
This book, as the grade shows, just wasn't for me. And that was a shame because I really did want to like it.
Maybe it didn't work for me because the writing was just too sparse. I need more detail to make characters and events come to life. Or maybe it failed because I couldn't feel any connection to or sympathy for any of the characters in the book. I really couldn't care less about any of them, and with the subject matter of this book being what it is, that was regrettable.
This book tells the story of 24 hours in the life of Birdie. She is in her eighties and getting ready to bury her only son. During the, mostly sleepless, night before the funeral, Birdie thinks about the past with the aid of photographs her memories. During moments of semi-sleep she appears to be visited by ghosts from the past.
I really liked the idea of this woman looking back on her life. but whereas it worked for me in Sebastian Barry's "The Secret Scripture", it didn't do anything for me this time around. Maybe because Birdie's memories were a bit like photographs; just showing pictures, but not explaining anything.
Yet, this wasn't a hard book to read. The writing is beautiful, words well chosen and measured. The only thing lacking for me was a story to grip me.
TITLE: THE DEAD
AUTHOR: INGRID BLACK
Pages: 314
Date: 21/02/2009
Grade: 4+
Details: no. 1 Saxon Mystery
Library
Saxon used to be a FBI agent, but has now been living in Dublin for years where she has a relationship with Chief Superintendent Grace Fitzgerald.
Five years ago they were trying to catch Ed Fagan who had become notorious as the serial killer called the Night Hunter when he just disappeared.
Now a letter to a journalist announces his return, and soon a first victim is discovered. The only problem is that Saxon knows that Fagan is dead and that somebody else must be doing the killing. The police are convinced it must be Fagan though, and are very reluctant to look elsewhere. And how do you stop a killer when you're looking in the wrong places?
With misdirection following misdirection, more people are killed and by the time Saxon does arrive at the right conclusion it may well be too late to safe herself.
This was a fun book because of the differences in law enforcement between America and Ireland, and the understandable frustration that leads to for the Americans involved.
With lots of undercurrents and multi-layered relationships this was a good mystery as well as a gripping read, and I'm looking forward to my next murder investigation on familiar territory.
Wednesday February 18th, 2009 the last event in Cavan's Caomhnu Literary festival took place in Johnston Central Library in Cavan Town, and boy was it a special evening.
Caomhnu is an Irish word meaning to protect and conserve, and this festival seeks to celebrate our literary past, present and look to the future.
On this evening we were fortunate enough to have two quest speakers, Colum McCann and Terry Prone. The original order of proceedings was disrupted when Terry Prone got very delayed in our notorious Irish traffic. So after a delay of just under an hour, Cavan's County Manager, Mr. Jack Keyes took the floor to welcome the very substantial audience and thank them for their patience.
He was followed by Mrs. Josephine Brady, County Librarian, who introduced Colum McCann in the most glowing terms, praising him as a great storyteller, known for his detailed research. He is a writer who loves libraries (his novel Zola was dedicated to librarians everywhere) and who creates pictures through his writing. Up to date Colum has published four novels and two short story collections, with a fifth novel, "Let the Great World Spin" due to be published later this year.
When Colum McCann stepped up to the microphone himself he treated us to two readings. The first one a twenty year old story about the emotions resulting from the wave of emigration that swept Ireland in those days. He mentioned that it was very appropriate to read this story today because our economy is once again in grave danger, although he hoped it wouldn't lead to mass emigration this time around.
The second reading was from his upcoming novel, and we the audience were honoured to be the first group in Ireland to hear a reading from this book. "Let the Great World Spin" is a powerful allegory of 9/11, although the story starts in 1974 and ends with a reference to recently electied President Obama.
McCann proved himself to be a fabulous reader. So good in fact that I'm almost afraid that when I get my hands on his books and start reading them myself I'll be disappointed to find that my internal voice is nowhere near as good. But, after hearing the reading from his forthcoming book I can't wait for the publication in September. The subject as well as the writing have left me fascinated, and impatient to read all of it.
After the two readings there was time for a few questions from the audience before it was time for Mrs. Josephine Brady to introduce Terry Prone who was there to deliver the annual Greer lecture.
Mrs. Prone has so far published 26 books; novels, short stories and non fiction. Her subject for the Greer Lecture was Women in the Workplace, a subject on which she holds strong opinions. She pointed out various reasons why women in general don't go as high up the career ladder as men, such as the fact the in general women's life's are more affect by the arrival of babies than those of men, the unwillingness of women to get into direct conflict, and the dislike women have for women who are ambitious. As she said, you may not like these statements, but that doesn't make them any less true. More home truths like these as well as practical advice can be found in Terry Prone's latest non fiction book," What Every Working Woman Should Know... and Do". And if her writing is anywhere near as captivating and interesting as her speaking, this book should be fascinating, funny and filled with practical advice.
She also spoke of her deep and life long love for books, because she said, as long as you have books you can go anywhere and meet anyone.
Terry Prone proved herself to be a great speaker; knowledgeable, funny, with a good sense of timing and a great ability to keep her audience captivated.
This fantastic evening was finished with an opportunity for the audience to meet both authors for further, more individual talks as well as book signings. Books by both authors were available to buy through the courtesy of Crannog Bookshop, Cavan Town.
I'd like to finish this piece with a quote mentioned by Josephine Brady earlier in the evening. She was quoting Germaine Greer on the subject of libraries, a quote that features on the Johnston Library building in Cavan Town:
"Libraries are reservoirs of strenght, grace and wit, reminders of order, calm and continuity, lakes of mental energy, neither warm nor cold, light nor dark. The pleasure they give is steady, unorgastic, reliable, deep and long-lasting. In any library in the world, I'm at home, unselfconsciously, still and absorbed."
TITLE: BLOOD AT THE BOOKIES
AUTHOR: SIMON BRETT
Pages: 339
Date: 17/02/2009
Grade: 4.5
Details: no. 9 Fethering Mystery
Library
This series just keeps on providing good, solid and cozy mysteries while at the same time touching on the occasional social issue.
In this ninth book in the series, Jude is in the local bookies, placing bets for an ill neighbour when a young man stumbles in, looks around and stumbles out again. Only minutes later Jude finds the young man outside dying from a knife wound.
The young man turns out to be Polish, and Jude and Carole, unable to resist another murder investigation, soon discover that there are very few clues. Even when they're joined by the dead man's sister things remain very unclear. And once they do discover the truth, it puts them in considerable danger.
There are times when a traditional (style) mystery is the best and most rewarding to read, as the author himself suggests in this book.
TITLE: A MOST WANTED MAN
AUTHOR: JOHN LE CARRE
Pages: 340
Date: 16/02/2009
Grade: 5-
Library
I wish I could remember why I ever stopped reading John Le Carre books. My parents had quite a few of them, and I read those. But it would appear I didn't read another one after I left home. Until now that is, and if my memory is correct, and if this book is any indication, I missed some good books during all those years.
The story in this book is in its essence a very simple one, complicated by a huge cast of players.
A young Russian man, Issa, is smuggled into Hamburg. He claims to be a devout Muslim and has a purpose in Hamburg.
Civil rights lawyer Annabel, takes on Issa's case and in doing so contacts Tommy Brue, a private banker. Annabel and Tommy unite to help Issa, but the secret services of three different countries are also on Issa's case, all of them having different objectives.
Annabel and Tommy are no more than pawns in a game they don't know the rules of; innocents in a world filled with betrayal.
