Category: Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller Page 146 of 154

Dusted Off: The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

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On July 29, 2013

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

The Girl Who Played With Fire (Millennium #2)The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

ugh. Really? Really world? This is the kind of thing you buy by the dozen? (or so it seems)

Okay…let’s go with the positives. This was better than The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The way that Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol was better than Police Academy: Mission to Moscow.

I like Lisabeth Salander — yeah, in many ways she’s cliched…but in enough ways she isn’t. The parts of the book that focused on her — not the investigation into her, but her, are far and away the best parts of the novel. Actually, if you cut away the rest of it — which is almost wholly dead weight, it’d be readable.

Now, the problems…well, some of them.

There are just too many characters. Well, there are too many names tied a quick description and some sort of quirk which supposed to equal characters. You could eliminate 30-50% of them and not do a darn thing to the plot.

There are plot lines that do nothing other than chew up space. The whole new job for Berger thing, for instance. Sure, this might come back to mean something in book 3, but I can’t see how.

There’s just too much wasted ink. We don’t need three paragraphs describing someone leaving the house to go get a hamburger and that’s it. Doesn’t advance the plot, doesn’t reveal anything about a character (other than to buttress the theory, based solely on this work, that all Swedes eat McDonald’s obsessively).

I had a laundry list of things to whine about–but who wants to read that (much less write it)? Let’s just leave it as, an over-written, over-long, dull book with one heckuva good, mostly wasted, character.

Dusted Off: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

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On July 29, 2013

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1)The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I honestly don’t know why it took me so long to get around to reading this little international phenomenon, it wasn’t because I didn’t have access, my sister loaned it to me months ago. Something just kept me from it, maybe it was fear of the bandwagon, who knows. It certainly has a strong following, almost Tha Da Vinci Code-like, more than one person saw me carrying it and had to talk about it, which never happens to me.

The one thing that we all agreed on was that it started slowly. Like cold molasses slow. It was either brave or foolhardy of Larsson to start off his book with a detailed and plodding description of a financial crime. Hardly the kind of thing that sucks you in. Not only that, that type of crime doesn’t seem to match up with the cited statistics about assaults on females in Sweden that are so prominent. When, after more than 200 pages into the novel, when we finally do get our first assault on a female, it comes across as perfunctory.

The book follows the path of 2 protagonists–Mikael Blomkvist, a financial reporter with a superiority complex, and Lisbeth Salander, a young investigator for a security company whose talents far exceed her appearance and age. Blomkvist is in the middle of some legal trouble, which has forced him out of the news biz for awhile, so he takes a job researching a decades-old missing-persons case for an aged, reclusive industrialist. Salander’s dealing with her own legal and personal issues, and apparently the near universal belief that horribly thin girls with tattoos and piercings are stupid and unreliable.

The book plods along, almost but not quite capturing my interest until soon after obligatory (yet unnecessary for either plot or character development) assault that the two finally meet, and then–finally the plot begins to pick up. The two join forces and quickly uncover clues that lay hidden in plain sight since the fateful day when the industrialist’s niece disappeared. These lead them to the trail of a serial killer.

Larsson gets both the investigator and the reporter to discover the killer’s identity at about the same time, when, naturally they are miles away from each other. This leads to both being in some kind of jeopardy. But honestly, I didn’t once feel any tension, it was clear that the jeopardy would be thwarted without permanent damage of any kind being inflicted.

Things were tied up in a tidy, and somewhat satisfactory bow, and the further along in the novel, the better things moved. But there’s really little to recommend the book on. Blomkvist reads a lot of detective fiction, usually dropping the name of the author and title along the way. There are at least two mentions of a Val McDermid novel. And as many problems as I have with her stuff, it’s a darn shame that Larsson didn’t pay more attention to her, he could’ve learned how to make even an obvious conclusion not seem entirely forgone, and with enough tension and suspense to spare. The “Thriller” label that’s applied to this book is very misplaced.

Why bother to finish it? Curious to see what all the fuss was about, really. Also, the Salandar character was intriguing enough. Which is why, incidentally, I started the sequel.

Suspect by Robert Crais

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On July 26, 2013

In Authors, Dogs, Elvis Cole/Joe Pike, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Robert Crais

SuspectSuspect by Robert Crais
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was a little leery of this book, I haven’t been all that satisfied with Crais’ standalones — Hostage was okay, Demolition Angel was enjoyable, but I haven’t been able to read more than 50 pages of The Two Minute Rule. But, hey, it’s Crais (and about a dog!), so I had to give it a try.

So glad I did. If you don’t come out of the first few pages deeply invested in Maggie, I fear you may not have a soul. Not that Scott’s story and character aren’t compelling enough, it’s just Maggie’s the star of the show and the heart of the novel, make no mistake. The action’s intense, the plot moves along well, and the suspense is real. Great read.

The fact that this is part of the Cole/Pike-verse is an added bonus.

I don’t think this is the best Crais novel (and I’ve read them all–except most of Two Minute Rule), but given the way this worms into your heart, it’s probably my favorite. I hope there’s more to come. Or at least an appearance from these two in a future Cole novel.

Recommended for fans of David Rosenfelt and Spencer Quinn.

Saturday Miscellany – 7/20

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On July 20, 2013

In Books, DVD/Movie, Elvis Cole/Joe Pike, Fantasy, Fiction, News/Misc., Robert Crais, Writing, YA/MG/Children's Books

Odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

The Last Word by Lisa Lutz

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On July 16, 2013

In Authors, Fiction, K-O, Lisa Lutz, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

The Last Word
The Last Word by Lisa Lutz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

One of the constant battles in The Spellman Files has been Izzy’s struggle with maturity and responsibility — there are people who just don’t grow up, who are locked into an eternal childhood. And then there are people like Izzy who have waged war on their impending adulthood. Her struggles are at times as trying to the reader as they are for those closest to her — friends/family/boyfriends — but primarily they amuse us (this is due to the skill of the Lutz more than Izzy’s inherent charm). Trail of the Spellmans ended with Izzy taking some determined steps towards maturity, however reluctantly, and The Last Word starts off showing how poorly that’s going.

Oddly enough, given her determined adolescence, I’ve always liked Izzy most when she’s interacting with the elderly (other than her grandmother — but I don’t know who could be likable while dealing with her). Early on, it was Mort Schilling — who I’ve missed, and now we get Edward Slayter and Charlie. While they serve similar roles in the narratives (a mature advisory/near-parental voice that Izzy sort-of listens to), Mr. Slayter and Charlie aren’t anywhere as amusing as Mort was.

These are ostensibly mystery novels, and there are a handful this time ’round. More than one of which focuses on Mr. Slayter (keeping this vague for spoiler reasons), so we see Izzy at her strongest. There’s some mysterious antics involving Rae, of course — and I’ve found these stories to be harder to enjoy lately, even more than Izzy’s Pernella Pan syndrome. And the requisite mystery about what Albert and Olivia are up to — once this moves beyond them repaying Izzy for being such a lousy and defiant employee/daughter for yeas, this becomes the emotional core of the book and is probably the best use of these characters in the series. The other cases are entertaining enough, and definitely provide a good balance to the more emotionally charged and serious plot lines.

Maybe it’s just me, but I sound negative about this book so far. And I don’t mean to! As always, it’s a pleasure to spend time with these characters and in this world. Izzy’s TV taste remains impeccable. And Lutz’s breezy style can carry even the most problematic characters and stories in a way that seems effortless (and is undoubtedly very difficult to do successfully). The character development here is a natural — and needed — progression from Trail, even if it means this isn’t the laughter-filled read the first few were. I wasn’t entirely thrilled with where this book left the family and business, but I understand (and would defend) the choices Lutz made — and I’m sure in a few weeks, I’ll only look back on this novel positively. But right now, my reaction to the last couple of chapters are coloring my mood.

Still, highly recommended — throughout the reading of this, I had fantasies of taking a few days off work to do nothing but re-read this series back-to-back, and that still sounds like a great way to spend some downtime.

Dusted Off: Heads You Lose by Lisa Lutz, David Hayward

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On July 15, 2013

In Authors, Fiction, K-O, Lisa Lutz, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Heads You LoseHeads You Lose by Lisa Lutz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a hook, what a killer (no pun intended) concept–an established mystery writer sends off a chapter of a new novel to an ex-boyfriend, asking him to collaborate with her on the novel. She’ll take the odd-numbered chapters, him the even. Interspersed in these chapters are emails sent back and forth, along with other comments they make on the other’s work, as the two stumble through the writing process.

And while that’s amusing enough, the actual novel ends up being a pretty good read. In a small California town, a pot-growing brother and sister team find a headless body in their backyard. They try (a couple of times) to dispose of the body so they can continue their growing without police interference, and then take it upon themselves to solve this murder (and the others that follow). A very unlikely crime stopping pair, to be sure.

The novel is filled with quirky characters, twists and turns that no one (even 50% of the authors) can see coming. Far more than just a catchy hook–Heads You Lose is an entertaining crime novel that’ll leave you wanting more.

Dusted Off: Holmes on the Range by Steve Hockensmith

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On July 11, 2013

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Western

Holmes on the RangeHolmes on the Range by Steve Hockensmith

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

You just have to love this concept. An illiterate cowboy in 1890’s Montana hears about Sherlock Holmes due to the republication of some of Watson’s accounts in American periodicals. He’s drawn by what Holmes does and sets about getting his hands on all of Watson’s reports he can. And then he makes his brother read them to him over and over and over so he can learn how to do what Holmes does. At some point he thinks he’s learned enough to start, and puts himself in a situation to put his skills to the test. And presto, you’ve got yourself a novel.

So much for the concept–how was the execution? Ehhh, not as good. It was dull, downright slow, filled with a bunch of cliched Western types. It was interesting enough to keep me reading, but man, did it get sloggy in parts. I’m glad I persevered, because the conclusion was satisfying (even if it’s pace was 200% of what preceded it) and the central characters were amusing.

These brothers offer a great take on Holmes/Watson, and I’m sure I’ll get to the sequels pretty soon. Hoping that now that the series has been set up, the next ones will pick up a little faster.

One Dog Night by David Rosenfelt

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On July 9, 2013

In Andy Carpenter, Authors, David Rosenfelt, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, P-U

One Dog Night
One Dog Night by David Rosenfelt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Everyone’s favorite Golden Retriever-aficionado, who practices law when he absolutely has to, is back. At this point in the series, the trick is coming up with something compelling enough to get Andy to take a case — this book just might have the strongest motivating factor in the series.

From there we get one of the more gruesome and devastating crimes in this series (but thankfully, we’re years removed from it, so we don’t have to read much about the details), and one of the more widespread and reaching conspiracies this side of Robert Langdon (but in a book that’s far better written and entertaining)

The gang’s all here, even if Willie’s only seen briefly and off in a storyline all his own (not sure I got the point of it, but it didn’t detract from the main story), and I’m getting used to Andy’s new co-counsel (though I don’t think he’ll truly replace the last one). This may contain Sam’s greatest moment — only to be eclipsed a couple of chapters later by something greater (alas, minor spoiler: no song talking). The courtroom antics were solid and entertaining — even when things aren’t going Andy’s (or the client’s) way. The twists and turns kept coming, resulting in an ending I never saw coming.

Killer Ambition by Marcia Clark

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On July 5, 2013

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Killer Ambition
Killer Ambition by Marcia Clark
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hmmm, wonder where Clark got the idea and experience to do a novel about a case with ties to Hollywood, celebrity and an all-invasive press corps trying the case outside the courtroom while putting all the details of the attorney’s lives on display for all the world. . . These parts of the novel worked so well — obviously, her own experiences and role as commentator since that one case have equipped her to tackle these things.

The relationships between Rachel and her friends/coworkers/romantic entanglements remain strong — although I think it was a bit more in the background this time around, and the book suffered for it.

I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure we spent more time in court in this novel than the two previous. Which is good, on the one hand, because these are supposed to be legal thrillers, so it’s good to have the courtroom proceedings. On the other hand, these are supposed to be legal thrillers, and on the whole, the pace and momentum of this books comes to a standstill in the details of the trial. Now, maybe this is just me — after my Perry Mason phase in high school, most of the courtroom depictions I’ve read have been by David Rosenfelt or from Paul Levine‘s Solomon & Lord series — and while Clark has a fun, light touch — she’s nowhere near as amusing as these two. Similarly, she doesn’t have the gravitas and talent of Michael Connelly — by the time Mickey Haller gets to court, the brakes have failed and there’s nothing to slow the runaway freight train of tension, suspense and energy. I’m not saying I want Clark to turn into a clone of any of these gentlemen — I’m just saying that until she improves, her readers are better served with Rachel & co. doing the bulk of their work in the field.

In the end, it was worth slogging through the slower portions, for the resolution to the mystery as well as to see how it all played out in the lives of those related to the case — I particularly liked the storyline involving the Lindsay Lohan-ish character. Now that she’s had her say about media circus trials and life under the microscope, I do hope that Clark gets back to the sorts of cases/victims that made the earlier books so much fun to read.

Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich

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On July 4, 2013

In Fiction, Janet Evanovich, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Stephanie Plum

Sizzling Sixteen
Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich
Series: Stephanie Plum, #16


My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When it comes to books in a series — particularly one that I’ve read more than 3 of (so the Plum books qualify several times over) — I don’t bother to read the back cover, I just want to read whatever’s next. So I had no idea how tough a sell this book would be for me until I got a few pages into it.

Vinnie Plum is probably my least favorite character in the Plum books (well, other than Joyce Barnhardt, now that I think of it). His character isn’t that interesting, almost never contributes anything to the story that couldn’t be handled by someone less-skeevy, say, Connie. So when the big story of the novel is going to be about rescuing Vinnie, I’m not going to be that invested. Actually, I’m going to root against Stephanie and her crew saving the day. A happy ending to this book would be Vinnie getting capped and Connie taking over. Or, fine, if he has to live — he’s so shaken by the experience that he sells his business to Ranger.

Of course, I knew that this is a Stephanie Plum novel, so the odds of that happening are pretty low, if not non-existent. Typically, everything resets at the end of the novel, and that status is quo going forth.

So, I had to seek fulfillment elsewhere — how many cars will Steph blow up? (her car’s in the shop for mechanical difficulty, of all things, when the book starts) Will Lula’s diet and the breaking of it annoy me? (not too bad, really) Will Stephanie’s efforts to bring in a pretty easy FTA or two be stupid flops, or actually funny? (eh, not bad…not as funny as they could’ve been, but not annoyingly stupid) Will Grandma Mazur’s antics seem like they’d be a better fit for The Nanny‘s grandmother than a crime novel? That kind of thing.

And overall, Evanovich pulled it off. This isn’t her at her best, but it’s her doing her thing. It’ll satisfy long-time readers, but probably wouldn’t win a first-timer. Pleasant enough way to spend 300 pages.

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