PHANTOMS ON THE BOOKSHELVES

TITLE: PHANTOMS ON THE BOOKSHELVES

AUTHOR: JACQUES BONNET

Pages: 133

Date: 17/06/2011

Grade: 5

Details: Non-fiction

            Reviewed for NewBooks

Own

This is a book about books, written by a man in the middle of a life-long love affair with books, who has accumulated approximately 40.000 copies in his house.

This is a book about having such a personal library, acquiring the books and the need to keep them, the intricacies involved in organising the shelves and the frustrations associated with not being able to find a certain copy of a certain title. This is a book for those who love books. For people, like me, who can’t walk past a bookshop without going in and leaving, a good while later, with at least a few new acquisitions.

I found so many statements and quotes that spoke to me, sentiments I recognized and feelings I shared that my copy is now littered with little notes so that I may find and experience them again.

However, I feel I should also mention that I was unfamiliar with most of the books and authors mentioned by Bonnet, and although this didn't in any way interfere with my enjoyment it may well alienate other readers to some extend.

For me this book is a little treasure that I will proudly add to my personal library (in the non-fiction section, alphabetically under author’s name to be precise).

Because this is a book about personal libraries, I couldn't resist including a picture of (part of) my personal library here. Phantoms on shelves, custom made for me by Dermot.

IF I NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN

TITLE: IF I NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN
AUTHOR: NIAMH O'CONNOR
Pages: 329
Date: 16/06/2011
Grade: 4.5
Details: No. 1 Jo Birmingham Mystery
Library

 Jo Birmingham is a police detective in Dublin. She's also a mother and separated from her husband who also happens to be her superior in work.
When Jo finds the body of a horrifically murdered prostitute it doesn't take her long to link it to other recent murders. What she discovers is not pretty. It appears they're looking for someone with a religious obsession, someone acting out an eye for or an eye, a tooth for a tooth.....
With the body count rising the investigation appears to be moving forward once Jo and her colleagues discover what the link between the victims is. But with things less straight forward than they appear Jo will find herself in real danger before this case can be concluded.

I am a big fan of good mysteries and as such was not disappointed in this book. It is a bonus that the story is set in Dublin, a place I know well.
Jo Birmingham makes a good main character. She is a tough and intuitive detective who knows her own mind and doesn't allow anybody to mess with her. She is also a devoted mother and still in turmoil over the separation from her husband. This makes her a real and well-rounded character, especially since she may be good at what she does but is far from perfect.
The mystery was very well plotted with enough red herrings to keep me guessing until the very end. I thought I had the solution very early on in the book, and when Jo came to the same conclusion a good bit later on, I felt a bit let down. But, we were both wrong, and that's all I say about that.
My one qualm about this book is that the murderer was virtually impossible to guess for the reader because the clues just weren't there. It made for a surprise ending though.
This book also strikes the right balance between the mystery and the personal story line. One never got in the way of the other and both were portrait realistically.
Another thing I really appreciated is the case O'Connor makes for Separate Legal Representation, a system which, if adopted, would allow victims of violent crime to have their own representation in court. Someone to give them a more personal voice, rather than just the voice of the prosecutor who, after all, speaks for the state, and not for the victims. O'Connor makes this case both in the story, and in a note at the end of the book and I fully agree with her.
All in all this was a great read, and a one day book for me. I'm very glad that my library has the second book, Taken, on order and that I will be able to get my hands on it soon.

THE DRAGON'S PATH

TITLE: THE DRAGON’S PATH

AUTHOR: DANIEL ABRAHAM

Pages: 555

Date: 14/06/2011

Grade: 4+

Details: The Dagger and the Coin: Book One

            Received from and reviewed for Bookgeeks

In the prologue of The Dragon’s Path a young apostate runs away from a remote religious community in the sure knowledge that if those following catch him, he will be killed. Through sheer determination and some luck he manages to make it to the safety of a town, uncertain of what he will find there or how he’ll cope with it, while carrying his secrets very close to his heart. And that is the last we hear about the apostate until the last chapter of the book, or is it?

The main story revolves primarily around three characters, Marcus the famous warrior now tired of the fighting, Cithrin, a young orphan raised by a bank and Geder, the only son from a minor noble house more interested in philosophy then fighting but forced by his position in to the latter.

When it appears Vanai, the city where Cithrin has grown up, is under threat from an invasion force, the banker who raised her decides to send her and most of his bank’s possessions away with the last trade caravan leaving. With Cithrin disguised as a boy and the goods as produce of little value, the hope is that the girl will be able to bring the bank’s valuables to its head-office.

Marcus is recognised as a hero. But after a devastating loss his fighting days are behind him and he prefers to guard the last caravan leaving Vanai over staying behind to join the forces facing the invading army. He hires a troupe of actors, led by Master Kit, to pretend to be guards.

Geder is part of the forces invading Vanai. He is not a natural soldier and looked upon as strange and not too bright by those around him. But, he will end up playing a major role, not only in Vanai’s ultimate fate, but also in the events that follow.

All three of them are pawns in a game that will lead the lands towards The Dragon’s Path – the path of war.

I really enjoyed this book. I think this is probably fantasy at its best. It has all the fantastical elements a reader would expect; strange countries populated by human-like, but not quite human as we know it, creatures, the threat of conflict and supernatural powers. However, this book is much more. The emphasis in this story is very much on political intrigue, the power of money and those who wield it, corruption and the dangers of religion. And those elements made this a fascinating read.

The main characters in this story came alive for me as the story progressed. There are no purely good and purely bad caricatures in this story, but rather realistic, fleshed out individuals with their good points and their bad, with the best intentions but not always the right way of going about it.

In many ways this book appears to be setting the stage for more to come, but that doesn’t take away from the satisfaction the reader gets from the story. It does make this reader rather eager to read further instalments though.

NEITHER HERE NOR THERE

TITLE: NEITHER HERE NOR THERE
AUTHOR: BILL BRYSON
Pages: 232
Date: 08/06/2011
Grade: 4
Library


This was my third book by Bill Bryson in just over two weeks, and I think that, for the time being, it will be my last. Not that I didn't enjoy this book, I did, but I think it is possible to overdo it with any author and I fear that if I read another Bryson book anytime soon I won't find it funny anymore because I'd be too used to his sense of humour. I didn't have that problem while reading Neither Here Nor There though. I had quite a few laugh out loud moments.

In this book Bryson describes his solitary travels through Europe in 1990. And he does see a lot of Europe, travelling through Norway, Sweden and Denmark (but not Finland), the low countries, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and ending his travels in Istanbul.
He has made this trip before, in the early 1970's with Stephen Katz, the same person he paired up with for his Walk in the Woods. It's a bit of a mystery though why he would want to journey with Katz again in that later book, Considering the memories he describes in this one I would have had no problem believing that he and Katz had never spoken to each other again.
His observations of the places he visits and the people he observes and meets is, as expected, sharp and funny and his descriptions do make me wish for a windfall large enough to extensively travel through Europe myself.
Overall this was an informative, interesting, fun and funny read written by a man who has a unique way with words.

CLAWS

TITLE: CLAWS
AUTHOR: STEPHEN BOOTH
Pages: 80
Date: 06/06/2011
Grade: 4
Details: A Peak District Novella
Own

Claws is another of Stephen Booth's Peak District mysteries, but it is not part of the series as such. This is a shorter story (only 80 pages) featuring only Ben Cooper and fitting in the series either just before or just after "Dying to Sin", judging by the publishing date.
Like I said Claws is much shorter then the books in the series and is more of a novella then a novel.
In this story Ben Cooper is investigating wildlife crime with the Rural Crime Squad. The investigation focuses mainly on a man known to collect Goshawk chicks and eggs. The goshawk is a protected birth so those collecting activities alone would warrant an arrest, but the man is also suspected of involvement with the trade in illegal drugs.
Before too long though, Ben and his colleagues are not just dealing with threatened and dead birds but also with a human murder victim, and Ben finds himself facing a choice between law and humanity.

I enjoyed this story, but I thought it was too short. Not only because I prefer longer books with more detail in general, but also because I feel that this story would have benefited from fleshing out. I would have loved to learn more about almost everybody and everything in this story, and did miss everything that wasn't there.
Having said that, Booth always knows to capture me with his writing and his descriptions of the Peak District and Claws was no exception. And with Ben Cooper being my favourite character in Booth's series, this novella was like a nice treat to tie me over until I can get my hands on the latest title in the series.

THE JANUS STONE

TITLE: THE JANUS STONE

AUTHOR: ELLY GRIFFITHS
Pages: 321
Date: 05/06/2011
Grade: 4.5
Details: no. 2 Dr. Ruth Galloway
            Large Print edition
Library

This is the second mystery featuring Dr. Ruth Galloway, forensic Archaeologist, and I liked it as much as I did the first one.
The story is set about four months after the terrifying ending of the first book and Ruth is back working in the university, living her solitary life and... pregnant. A pregnancy she keeps to herself for as long as she thinks she can, but is soon forced to share with others, including the baby's father.
When bones are found under an archway in an old building being torn down for conversion into apartments, Ruth is called in to examine the bones and the site they were found in. Because the bones turn out to be relatively recent, DCI Harry Nelson is called in and he soon finds himself wondering what he could be dealing with. Is this a case of straight-forward murder or is he looking at a chilling ritual killing? And who could these tiny bones possibly belong to?
As the case develops Ruth finds herself targeted by someone who seems determined to scare her either away from the investigation, or to death. And before the book ends Ruth will have to take actions she wouldn't have considered possible in order to protect herself and, more importantly, her unborn child.

I really enjoy this series. I have a soft spot for archaeological mysteries anyway, but the character of Ruth gives these books an extra charm. Ruth is not you're average beautifully, athletic and overly competent mystery heroine. Quite the opposite really, since she is over-weight and a rather solitary person. For me though, that only adds to her appeal. It seems to make her more real, and therefore the danger she gets into more threatening.
Another thing I like is that the reader is given an insight into the actions and thoughts of every person involved in the investigation, meaning that there are no late surprises when the mystery's solution is revealed. The reader has as good a chance to solve the mystery as the characters have, and that's the way a good mystery should work in my opinion.

I'm really glad that I already have the third book in this series here at home, and know that I will be picking it up very soon.

THE LOCK ARTIST

TITLE: THE LOCK ARTIST
AUTHOR: STEVE HAMILTON
Pages: 304
Date: 03/06/2011
Grade: 4.5
Details: I received this book from, and reviewed it for BookDagger / Real Readers.Own

 

The Lock Artist tells the story Michael. When Michael was eight something terrible happened to him and his family. Michael is the only survivor of the event that has left him unable to speak and living with his well meaning but not quite up to the task uncle.
When Michael discovers a talent for opening locks it gives him an escape from the trauma as well as a way of avoiding bullying in school. But when a high school prank goes wrong Michael finds himself the subject of interest for organized crime. When Michael falls in love with Amelia it gives his criminal bosses a hold over him and he finds himself training with a professional lock artist, learning how to open safes and involved in dangerous and high stake break-inns.
All the time though Michael is looking for a way to end his masters' hold over him while keeping the girl he loves save. Most of all though, he's looking for the key that will allow him to unlock his secrets and to speak again.
This is a remarkable story. Michael, the main character, can't be pigeonholed as either good or bad. He is proud of his skill with locks, but not happy with what others make him use it for. It clearly excites him when he's able to open a lock or safe, but doesn't want the involvement with high level crime and violence. As such, he makes a realistic, multi-dimensional and very likable main character.
The story is very well plotted. While the break-inns and the dangers involved with them keep the tension high, the real mystery lies in what exactly happened to Michael all those years ago, and in whether or not he'll ever be able to share those events and maybe even talk again.
I really enjoyed this book and only had one minor problem with the plot. I can't help wondering how it is possible that with the FBI being close to Michael and his teacher so early on in the story, it was still possible for Michael to get in as deep as he did. Other than that though, this was a very well written, and very gripping thriller.