Mystery

  • Book Review – S IS FOR SILENCE by Sue Grafton

    This is the second novel by Sue Grafton that I have read. I thoroughly enjoyed B is for Burglar when I read it over a year ago and was looking forward to reading another Kinsey Millhone mystery.

    Unfortunately S is for Silence didn’t live up to expectations for me. The murder mystery story itself was quite good, with a reasonably complex plot with clues gradually unveiled through flashbacks from multiple characters viewpoints. For me however, the element I most enjoyed in B is for Burglar, the personal touch of PI Kinsey Millhone, was somehow lacking this time round. Rather than being a central figure, she seemed to play a lesser role in this novel.

  • NEGATIVE IMAGE by Vicki Delany, Book Review: Cosy charm

    I was pleasantly surprised at how many plot lines Vicki Delany has managed to weave into Negative Image, a novel of less than 300 pages. Murder, extortion, a string of burglaries, a stalker and a personal tragedy are all on the bill.

    Vicki Delany’s prose is unpretentious and easy to read – her focus is telling a compelling story.

  • SCENE STEALER by Elise Warner, Book Review & Interview

    Elise Warner’s debut novel Scene Stealer is a cozy mystery with attitude.
    “For a moment our eyes met; his were frightened, seeking help. Was it my imagination gone wild? No. After all those years of teaching elementary school, I knew this child was afraid.”

  • Life of Pi, Book Review: Yann Martel’s life-affirming gem

    The Life of Pi novel, Yann Martel’s debut, truly deserves the accolades it has received. I was thoroughly engaged and entertained by this tale. Read my full review including some memorable book quotes below and we answer your burning question – was Life of Pi based on a true story?

  • Book Review – GONE by Lisa Gardner

    BOOK RATING: The Writing 3 / 5 ;  The Story 4 / 5 BOOK DETAILS: Gone (The Book Depository), Gone (Amazon) Book Synopsis Ex-FBI profiler Pierce Quincy has just been thrown into his worst nightmare. A car has been found abandoned,…

  • THE RETURN by Victoria Hislop, Book Review: Engrossing

    The Return (2008) is Victoria Hislop’s second novel. Her debut novel, The Island (2005) was included in The Times ‘100 Books That Defined the Noughties’. The Return Synopsis A captivating new novel of family, love, and betrayal set against a…

  • SIREN by Tara Moss, Book Review: A sassy, sexy thriller

    Siren is a sassy, sexy thriller. Tara Moss’s much anticipated fifth novel in her Vanderwall thriller series lives up to expectations and as always leaves her fans gasping for more. Although I do not know the author personally, her public persona appears…

  • The Last Anniversary, Review: Liane Moriarty’s cosy mystery

    Delightful. Liane Moriarty’s novel The Last Anniversary is a wonderful blend of chick lit, drama and cosy mystery. The subtitle, ‘sometimes you have to come up with your own fairytale ending’ is the attention grabber and a sentiment that many women will identify with.

  • The Alchemist, Book Review: Paulo Coelho’s beguiling novel

    Santiago’s search for hidden treasure is presented as a metaphor for life.
    Coelho introduces the concept of one’s Personal Legend, or destiny. Appealingly though, this destiny is not presented as something that will simply fall into one’s lap, but something one needs to strive for. Too often in this inspirational genre readers are given the impression that if we simply wish for something long enough with the purest of intentions, then that wish will come into being. This simple tale reminds us that anything worth having must be worked for and that one does not gain in life without first risking loss. We are also reminded that treasures can come in the form of both material objects and experiences.

  • A HOUSE TO LET by Dickens, Collins, Gaskell & Proctor, Book Review

    What’s not to love about an inquisitive elderly lady playing Miss Marple? A House To Let, a collaboration between some of the greatest classic British authors Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Gaskell and Adelaide Anne Proctor, is your quintessential cosy mystery. It comes from a time where deception and intrigue were enough to underpin a compelling story – no blood or murder were necessary.

  • The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson, Book Review

    Gripping. The second instalment of Stieg Larsson’s Millenium Trilogy, The Girl Who Played With Fire, is not just a worthy successor to the first, it is even better!
    Why is it better? This novel is where the reader is properly introduced to the feisty heroine Lisbeth Salander.

  • THE HOUSEKEEPER + THE PROFESSOR by Yoko Ogawa, Review

    BOOK REVIEW: Exquisite minimalism. I’ve always been a believer that good things come in small packages and this novel by Ogawa is a perfect example. The characters, a mathematics professor with special needs, his housekeeper and her son, are developed in an understated manner, through their actions. The mathematical concepts are explained with artful simplicity and woven into the telling of the story to great effect. I found Ogawa’s writing style refreshing – words are not squandered but chosen carefully to extract maximum value

  • TRICK OR TREAT by Kerry Greenwood, Book Review

    Book 4 in Kerry Greenwood’s Corinna Chapman’s Murder Mysteries Series Trick or Treat Synopsis: Corinna Chapman, amateur sleuth, baker extraordinaire and proprietor of the Earthly Delights Bakery, returns for her fourth criminally entertaining and delicious adventure. When a cut-price franchise…

  • NO THOROUGHFARE by Charles Dickens & Wilkie Collins

    BOOK RATING: The Story 4 / 5 ; The Writing 4 / 5 BOOK REVIEW: Captivating. This story was originally written as a play, and perhaps because of that has a succinctness that I found very enjoyable. At only 134 pages (PDF)…