CHASING DARKNESS

TITLE: CHASING DARKNESS
AUTHOR: ROBERT CRAIS
Pages: 273
Date: 30/01/2011
Grade: 5-
Details: no. 11 Elvis Cole
Library

Before I start this review I should probably admit that I just love the characters of Elvis Cole and Pike, and seem to be loving them more with every subsequent book in the series. They really can't do any wrong by me. And neither can the author. He never fails to pull me into his stories and hold me in his grip until I've read the very last word of what is always a thrilling and fascinating mystery.
In this, the 11th book in the Elvis Cole series, Elvis finds himself revisiting a case he thought he had closed years ago.
Seven years previously he was asked to investigate a man who was accused of having killed a young woman. Through a witness statement he proved that the man, Lionel Byrd couldn't possibly have committed the murder, and Byrd was released without the case every going to trail.
Now Byrd has been found, apparently after committing suicide, with a photo album in his lap containing photos of seven girls, taken just moments after they were murdered. The police waste no time closing both the investigation of Byrd's death and the seven as yet unresolved murders; Byrd killed them all. They also waste no time rubbing Elvis' mistake in his face.
Elvis Cole is not so easily convinced though. He knows that his investigation years ago was solid and if Byrd couldn't have committed that murder, there's a good chance he didn't commit the other six either.
And with the police investigation, such as it was, having been highly unusual and secretive, Elvis has every reason to be suspicious.
This was a solid mystery, with less violence then I've come to expect from Robert Crais' books, but just as much tension. There was a nice twist near the end of the story and no loose ends that I could detect.
I find myself in a bit of a quandary now though. Do I rush on and read the next book ("The Sentry", a Joe Pike story) leaving me only the soon to be released "The Sentry" to look forward to. Or do I leave it for a bit, and drag the pleasure out with a bit of anticipation? Decisions, decisions..

FIFTY SECONDS OF FAME

By accident far more than design my library book club and I found ourselves being filmed by TV3 last Monday while we were being interviewed about our thoughts on THE TWELVE by Stuart Neville.
Before I write about the actual experience of being filmed and seeing myself on television, I suppose I'd better explain how we ended up in that situation.
A while ago Bord Gais Energy (Ireland) started a book club (BGEB) online which I joined as soon as I found out about it. Since there was an option to register book clubs, and it came with the promise of prices if you were selected as book club of the month, I signed my Bailieborough Library Book Club up as well. I don't remember seeing any mention of TV3 or the possibility of a book club being picked for a television appearance, but that may well be a case of me not paying enough attention.
I had sort of forgotten about signing the book club up when I received a news letter from BGEB and discovered, much to my surprise, that my book club had been picked both as book club of the Month for January AND to read and discuss a book for a broadcast on TV3.

Thanks to wintry weather and the Christmas holidays the copies of THE TWELVE reached us rather late and all of us had to do some speed-reading to have the book read in time for filming. But, we all managed it. Not in the least because THE TWELVE is a very well written and gripping story.
Last Monday morning a small crew from TV3 arrived in Bailieborough library at 11 in the morning and spend the next two hours filming the book club, the library and individual interviews with six members of the book club. 
All of us were a bit nervous and giddy about the thought of being filmed and subsequently broadcast. The actual filming was far less scary than we thought though. Because the individual sections were done through a process of questions and answers (with only the answers being broadcast) we were able to concentrate on Michelle, who was asking the questions, and more or less ignore the fact that there was a camera there.
After the interviews were over, the library itself was filmed, both inside and out.
The following morning just before half past nine we could see ourselves on television. I have to say it's strange to see and hear myself like that. 
Why is it that I never look or sound like I think I do?
Other than that though, I'm extremely happy with the six minutes piece that was broadcast that morning. It advertises my library to its best advantage and I do think that all of us came across as reasonably sensible and well spoken people, even if they did get the name tags a bit mixed up. Just in case you're curious, I am the person who is identified as Pauline Keogan (and she appears with my name attached). If it had been left up to me to create a piece to advertise the library and its book club, I couldn't have done a better job.
I'm not sure I'd want to appear on TV again, anytime soon. But the experience wasn't anywhere near as frightening as I thought it would be. 
Whether or not I'm right to be proud of what went out you can judge for yourself here.

THE POSTMISTRESS

TITLE: THE POSTMISTRESS
AUTHOR: SARAH BLAKE
Pages: 318
Date: 22/01/2011
Grade: 4+
Own

This is a book about World War Two, but it is different from most of the books about that time I have read.
A lot of the story is set in America in 1941 before the US entered the war. Yet, some Americans were in England and Continental Europe, already part of a war that most of America saw as having nothing to do with them.
This is the story of three women.
Emma Fitch has recently married Will, a doctor in Franklin on Cape Cod and for the first time in a long time Emma feels like she...moreThis is a book about World War Two, but it is different from most of the books about that time I have read.
A lot of the story is set in America in 1941 before the US entered the war. Yet, some Americans were in England and Continental Europe, already part of a war that most of America saw as having nothing to do with them.
This is the story of three women.
Emma Fitch has recently married Will, a doctor in Franklin on Cape Cod and for the first time in a long time Emma feels like she belongs somewhere, with someone. For the first time in a long time she feels safe. Then, after a tragedy occurs, Will decides to go to England to offer his medical services there and Emma once again finds herself left behind and on her own.
Iris James is the postmistress in Franklin and prides herself on running a faultless postal service, making sure that the messages people send each other safely make it to where they should be.
Frankie Bard is already in London where she's a radio reporter, bringing the ordeal of the Blitz to the listeners in America. Trying to tell the truth and make them see and care about what is happening in Europe but never convinced that she is succeeding.
Then one day, after a very bad night in London the lives of the three women collide, although none of them is aware of it. And before the summer of 1941 has come to an end, all three women will have dealt with tragedy and two of them will have done something that is completely against everything they stand for and believe in.
Yes, this is a story about the war. But it is also a story about loneliness, about being isolated in a world filled with people. It's a story about the choices we make and what constitutes right and wrong. A story about how sometimes the wrong thing can be the only right thing to do.
This is a very good story with several layers. I didn't find it an easy book to read though. A lot of what was happening, of what was being said and more importantly what was not being said made me feel very uncomfortable. The feeling the book left me with is one of sadness about lives so very close, yet never really able to touch each other. This is a story I will be thinking about a lot in days to come.

COLLUSION

TITLE: COLLUSION

AUTHOR: STUART NEVILLE
Pages: 354
Date: 17/01/2010
Grade: 4.5
Details: no. 2 Northern Ireland thriller
Library

This the second thriller by Stuart Neville set in Northern Ireland and it is another fast and furious story with lots of violence.
The story starts a few months after the end of The Twelve. The main character this time is Jack Lennon, the policeman who left Marie from the first book when she was pregnant with his daughter, Ellen.
Marie and her daughter have disappeared after all the violence they were exposed to, and Jack is trying to find his daughter and to discover what exactly happened before she disappeared. But as he asks questions and starts digging he keeps on running up against conspiracies and secrets. When people who were connected to the earlier events start dying, Lennon is convinced they are being murdered because of that connection and that Marie and his daughter are also in danger. His superiors in the police force however seem determined to not investigate the suspicious deaths and keep on warning him to let the whole situation rest.
The instigator of this new round of violence is Bull O'Kane. When Gerry Fegan allowed the Bull to live during their confrontation he created a wounded but still powerful enemy. An enemy who now only has one purpose in life, to get his revenge on Gerry and who will do anything to get it. Bull has hired a killer, at least as ruthless as Gerry used to be, to kill all those who were connected to Gerry's killing spree and then to get Marie and Ellen in order to draw Gerry out.
Gerry meanwhile is in New York trying to build himself a new and non-violent life. Deep inside though he knows that unfinished business waits for him in Northern Ireland and that it's only a matter of time before he will have to fulfill his promise to Marie and go back to protect her and her very special daughter once again.
This book is at least as well written as the first one. Another book that grabs you by the throat on page one and doesn't let go until you've read the last word on the last page. It is also once again a story filled with lots of, at times very brutal, violence. But, I did think this book was more balanced than The Twelve. Where I thought there were just black characters in The Twelve, the characters in this book have more nuances. Even Gerry Fegan, who is only one of the characters making a re-appearance, comes out of this story looking far better. While I was looking for reasons to like Fegan in the first book, I didn't have to try at all in this one. With his ghosts out of the way, he was only a man looking for a quiet life, forced to keep his promise.
Lennon is also a well-rounded character. There are definitely sides to his character that are easy to dislike, but he's really just a man like any other, trying to do his best but bound to fail every now and again.
I also like the super-natural aspects to these stories. They may take a back seat to the more standard thriller aspects of the stories, but they give these books that little extra that makes them stand out from your run of the mill thriller.
I really hope Stuart Neville continues with this series. I'd love to meet Lennon and Ellen again in the future and see how their lives develop.


On a side note; On FantasticFiction.com this book is listed as the second Jack Lennon thriller. Because Lennon didn't really feature in the first book at all I decided to list it as I did above instead.

IRELAND READING CHALLENGE 2011

I don't usually participate in reading challenges. I like to pick my reads as the mood strikes me and a reading challenge can potentially lead to the feeling that I have to read (a) certain book(s) before a given date. 

However, I do like the sound of this particular challenge.
I like the idea of reading at least a few books this year that is either written by an Irish author, set in Ireland, or involving Irish history or Irish characters. 
I've lived in Ireland for almost 14 years now and still feel that I have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to reading Irish authors. This challenge might just give me the push I need to read a few more. 
The challenge itself is not too demanding either. Yes, the participant commits to reading a certain amount of books, but the numbers are, for me anyway, quite low:

Shamrock level: 2 books
Luck o’ the Irish level: 4 books
Kiss the Blarney Stone level: 6 books

I've decided to commit myself to reading at least 6 Irish books this year, but would be disappointed if I didn't read a few more then that. Especially since I'm already on my second book by an Irish author this year and have at least two unread books by Irish authors on my shelves. Working in a library will make it very easy to come up with any other Irish novels.
For anyone wanting to know more about this challenge, here's the link to the Ireland Reading Challenge 2011.

ORYX AND CRAKE

TITLE: ORYX AND CRAKE
AUTHOR: MARGARET ATWOOD
Pages: 433
Date: 14/01/2011
Grade: 4.5

In terms of year of publication Oryx and Crake would be a prequel to The Year of the Flood. However chronologically it would be more accurate to call it a parallel novel, if there is such a thing.
We are once again introduced to our world at some time in the (not too distant?)future. A lot has changed, whole species of animals are completely distinct and human experiments have introduced new creatures; combinations of pre-existing animals theoretically with only the good qualities of old species, but in reality turning out to have quite unexpected and often undesirable characteristics.
This is the story of Snowman, formerly Jimmy, who is, as far as he knows the only human survivor of a worldwide disaster. Dressed in only a sheet he sleeps in a tree and keeps an eye on "Crake's People", a new creation looking somewhat like humans, but also completely different. With little to occupy his time Jimmy/Snowman spends his time looking back on his life and on the events that lead to him being in the position he finds himself in.
Slowly a picture emerges of a world where the population is divided up into basically two groups. There are the privileged ones who are talented enough to work for the corporations that create products, medication, new animals and anything else their minds can think of that might create a profit. And there is the rest of humankind, living in what's called the Pleblands where life is less regulated and far more dangerous.
Jimmy is the son of corporation employees but doesn't have an easy life. His mother runs away and disappears when he's still young. He's nowhere near as smart as most of his contemporaries and struggles with life.
When he's in his teens Crake enters his life, and although he doesn't meet her face to face, so does Oryx.
Crake is a genius, a quality that will end up having severe consequences for Jimmy and for the whole of humankind.
This story, like the one in The Year of the Flood leaves the reader with lots of fruit for thought. If, like me you are already afraid of the human need to expand, dominate and "improve", this book will re-enforce those fears. No conspiracy theory I have come across paints as bleak a picture as these two novels do. And yet it is all to easy to believe that some day, something like this could all to easily happen. A very bleak picture presented in a way that is all to plausible, this is a story that will stay with me for a long time.
There is room for a third book I think, one that does take the story forwards from the endings of both books. I hope Atwood will write that book. 

THE TWELVE

TITLE: THE TWELVE

AUTHOR: STUART NEVILLE
Pages: 464
Date: 09/01/2011
Grade: 3.5
Details: no. 1 Jack Lennon Investigations
Own

I read this book for the Bord Gais Energy Book Club on TV3’s “Ireland AM”.

Coming Friday some my book club will be filmed while we answer questions about this book the result of which will be broadcasted at a later date.

In the time between now and then I’ll have to try and figure out what I actually think about this book.

This is the Story of Gerry Fegan. For years he was a hit man for the Republican’s in Northern Ireland, killing who he was told needed to be dead without questioning either the deed or the motives of those ordering him.

Now Fegan finds himself haunted by the ghosts of 12 people he killed. They won’t leave him alone, following him everywhere they leave him sleepless and trying to drink himself and his ghosts into oblivion.

But no amount of drink can keep the ghosts at bay. They want their revenge on those who ordered or caused their deaths, and they want Fegan to do the killing.

And so Fegan finds himself in modern day Belfast, hunting down those the ghosts want killed and doing the ghost’s bidding. And with every new killing, Fegan loses a ghost.

But today’s Belfast in this book is not such a different place from what it was during the troubles. The hard-men still run the city, politicians scheme to gain or retain power and the powerful both, Republican and British, won’t stand by and allow a lone madmen to derail what it took them over 30 years to accomplish.

I’m really not sure how I feel about this book.

It is really well written and it’s a page turner if ever there was one. Once I started reading the book I couldn’t put it down.

On the other hand, I can’t remember ever having been this enchanted by a story in which none of the characters appeared to have a redeeming quality. The problem with this book is not that it’s too black versus white, it is that there appears to be no white, and not a whole lot of grey either.

At times while reading The Twelve I really wanted to like Fegan, wanted to try and explain his actions, both in the past and now, away, wanted to make it alright for him to be who and what he was. But really, you can’t. He is a cold blooded killer. Killing in the past because he was told to do so and killing in the present to make his pain go away. But always killing because “he had always thought of killing as work”.

This book also left me feeling that either Stuart Neville is very cynical or I’m a complete innocent. My fear is that I’m probably an innocent, and that is a very scary thought. 

I will say this for the book though:

It would also make a great discussion book. 

If I find myself arguing with myself in my review I can only imagine what it might be like if I had others to discuss this story with.

It is however not a book for those who abhor violence, nor for those who can’t read about cruelty to animals. And if you want your endings to be of the (all) evil gets punished variety, you’d better stay away from this book too.

Morality issue and possible spoiler:

Fegan’s killing spree was really only about getting rid of his ghosts, in an effort to make his own life bearable again. It had nothing to do with trying to right wrongs or get revenge for those who had unjustly been killed. He only killed those who the ghosts pointed out to him and allowed others, at least equally bad, to live because they had no ghost attached to them.