Arctic Chill by Arnaldur Indridason & translated by Bernard Scudder
Posted in: Book Reviews | Comments (0)
It is strange to think of Iceland as a multi-cultural society, but the fact that it has a fairly substantial immigrant population provides the background for this murder-mystery. A 10-year-old half-Thai boy is found stabbed to death on a path to his home on the way back from school. And Inspector Erlendur Sveinsson has to investigate not only the murder but also the possibility of a hate crime.
In this latest novel featuring the Icelandic Inspector, he also confronts his own past: the estrangement of his daughter and son and the haunting ghost of his brother’s tragic death when they were both young boys lost in a snow storm.
Indridason is the author of four previous novels, including the Gold Dagger award-winning Jar City. This latest effort merely reinforces his reputation as being among the best of the contemporary Scandinavian crime novelists. He addresses not only the traditional crime-mystery themes, but also present-day social matters as well. The writing is beautifully simple, but poignant and elegant. Highly recommended.
Theodore Feit @ March 16, 2010
New Tricks by David Rosenfelt – review
Posted in: Book Reviews | Comments (0)
This newest entry in the Andy Carpenter series starts out with Andy being called to a judge’s chambers and assigned a client, which turns out to be a dog. But not just any dog. It is a potential champion show canine, son of perhaps the greatest show dog of all time. Custody of the dog is disputed between the widow of a murdered multi-millionaire and his son, who has no love for his step-mother. While Andy is retrieving the dog from the woman until he can decide who gets possession of the animal, the mansion explodes and the step-mother is killed.
Soon, the step-son is arrested for causing the explosion and death of his step-mother, and he retains Andy to defend him. Meanwhile, Andy’s lover and former investigator is visiting, providing a love angle. When the case endangers her life, Andy unavoidably becomes distracted from his investigation. The plot revolves around trying to formulate a defense and developing all kinds of theories.
Theodore Feit @ March 16, 2010
The Water’s Edge by Karin Fossum & translated by Charlotte Barslund- review
Posted in: Book Reviews | Comments (0)
The reader soon knows what is in store on the first page of the first chapter of this disturbing yet immensely absorbing novel by Karin Fossum, when we are told: “He did not wish to discard his burden casually on the ground; he wanted this precise cluster of trees, which would serve as a kind of monument. This last scrap of decency comforted him, he was still a human being, he had feelings, many of them good ones.” This is a prelude to the discovery of the dead body of a young boy, nearly eight years old, in the forest near the edge of a lake, naked from the waist down.
This newest in the Inspector Sejer mystery series finds him and his assistant, Jacob Skarre, somewhat contemplative and trying to define what draws them to their work, asking Sejer “Why are we so drawn to the death of others? . . . Why do you think people are so fascinated by crime? Nothing sells better than murder and the worse it is, the more interested people are. What does that say about us?” As the search for the killer begins, Sejer expresses his main concern: that “this man will strike again.”
Gloria Feit @ March 16, 2010
Rhino Ranch by Larry McMurtry – review
Posted in: Book Reviews | Comments (0)
It’s been a long road, but all good things have to come to an end. So we are treated to the adventures of Duane Moore, as his life is nearing its end. And what a bizarre time it is in Thalia, Texas. A billionairess decides to import the vanishing black rhino from Africa on a spread near the town, in an effort to save the species and perhaps establish a tourist attraction.
Of course, the insular people of Thalia look askance at outsiders, and Duane’s friendliness with the sponsor of Rhino Ranch does not serve him very well in the closing days of his life. The novel, full of pathos and nostalgia, as Duane looks over his past days, contemplates the changes in Duane’s little world, as well as the broader world as well. It’s full of wit and philosophizing, and whimsically reflects upon the humor and romantic relationships inherent in the series.
Theodore Feit @ March 15, 2010
Let it Ride by John McFetridge – review
Posted in: Book Reviews | Comments (0)
[Let it Ride was published in Canada as Swap]
With some books if a reader doesn’t like a particular aspect (the characters were thin, the writing weak, the story implausible, etc) it is seen as a reflection of the book rather then the reader. But then there are other books, and Let it Ride is one of them, where a readers reactions are a reflection on them. To say you don’t like a John McFetridge novel is to say that you don’t like to be challenged; that you like things spoon-fed to you; that you prefer simplicity. A McFetridge novel won’t do these things and is so much more because of it.
The closest comparison for John McFetridge’s style of writing is a season of The Wire. One of the novels is akin to one whole season. And his unwillingness to hold the hand of the reader on almost any level is almost like a novel embodiment of something that David Simon said in an interview once, “Fuck the average reader”.
Brian Lindenmuth @ March 15, 2010
Sand Sharks by Margaret Maron – review
Posted in: Book Reviews | Comments (0)
In the newest in her Judge Deborah Knott mystery series, Margaret Maron has her protagonist attending a summer conference for North Carolina district court judges in Wrightsville Beach, not far from Wilmington. She gets more than she bargained for, however, when a fellow attendee is murdered, and Deborah is the one who stumbles over the body. It is not long before another judge is run down by a car whose driver sped off after striking him. The suspects in the first incident are numerous, as the victim was not a man of high principles, or ethics. As Deborah was a witness, and suspicion runs high that the two attacks are connected, she becomes involved in the search for the killer.
The author prefaces each chapter with a quote from a well-known jurist of years past – and I do mean past – ranging from Sir William Blackstone (1723-1780) going back to late-era B.C. and early A.D. (My favorite of these – well, the one that had me grinning – began the penultimate chapter, to wit: “Our ancestors established the rule that all women, because of their weakness of intellect, should be under the power of guardians,” attributed to Cicero (BC 106-47). The gorgeous descriptions of the Southern landscapes, and seascapes, only add to the enjoyment. Marital infidelity and dissolutions, and men with wandering eyes [among other body parts] – regardless of marital status – supply a theme running through the novel.
Gloria Feit @ March 15, 2010
Hunt Through the Cradle of Fear by Gabriel Hunt – review
Posted in: Book Reviews | Comments (0)
Some years ago, Charles Ardai, founder of Hard Case Crime, conceived of an adventure series featuring (and ostensibly written by) Gabriel Hunt, a swashbuckling adventurer, but actually authored by others. There have apparently been five prior novels, and this one is written by Mr. Ardai himself.
The book reminds me of the serials that used to be shown on Saturdays, along with double features, in which a cliffhanger left us kids panting to find out what happen in the next [what we called] chapter. Or like the silent film called “The Perils of Pauline.” Only in this novel, the cliffhangers don’t come with every chapter, but they come with great frequency, beginning in Chapter One, as Gabriel rescues Sheba McCoy from the clutches of DeGroet, a rich Hungarian, who kidnapped her in an effort to get her to assist him in a quest for a secret treasure. The plot involves the chase for the treasure, with both Gabriel and Sheba being captured by DeGroet, and escaping several times until the end.
Theodore Feit @ March 15, 2010
New trailer for HBO’s Treme
Posted in: TV | Comments (0)
I don’t think I’ve seen this trailer for Treme yet.
The Wynton Marsalis song “Ring Shout (Peace Of Mind)” makes another appearance (it was in the original teaser) so I wonder what role it will play in the show (theme, opening, closer).
Earlier we brought you the plot summaries for the first three episodes.
Check out the full trailer after the jump.
Brian Lindenmuth @ March 14, 2010
The Siege by Stephen White – review
Posted in: Book Reviews | Comments (0)
When one opens a new book, there is always, for this reader, a bit of tension. What world will this open? What adventure awaits? How good will the writing be? After the first two pages of The Siege, I exhaled and relaxed, thinking that this is, after all, a Stephen White novel, and I was in excellent hands.
That is not to say that the book opens in a placid landscape. To the contrary. The opening scene takes place on the campus of Yale University, where the police are camped out at a building in front of which is a young man, a Yale student, to whose body has been strapped a bomb. He tells the police that the bomb will go off in precisely five minutes. Terrifyingly, he is only one of a number [exact figure unknown] of students who are missing and presumably all being held hostage by person or persons unknown, for reasons unknown, inside that same building, a fortress-like structure unnervingly referred to as a tomb.
Gloria Feit @ March 13, 2010
Losers Live Longer by Russell Atwood – review
Posted in: Book Reviews, Uncategorized | Comments (0)
Losers Live Longer By Russell Atwood
Payton Sherwood is a private eye with a shabby office in New York’s East Village. He was fired five years ago for dereliction of duty by a large agency. So far this year, he has had four cases which barely covered the rent, and last week he borrowed $1,000 from his parents to cover recent expenses. When he is offered a gig for $100 by a retired legendary detective, he gushes.
Theodore Feit @ March 13, 2010
