balthazarlawson's reviews
1145 reviews

Red Earth by Tony Park

adventurous informative mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

This is set in South Africa, where a vulture researcher and an helicopter pilot are drawn into the hunt for terrorists responsible for the assassination of the USA ambassador. But they don't know about the terrorists and are only interested in saving a teenage boy and girl and a stolen baby, accused of things they didn't do. They wind up in the middle of the manhunt that takes them across South Africa trying to figure out exactly what is going on and who they can trust. Giving up being on the run isn't easy when everyone seems to want to kill you.

I enjoyed this, mostly, except for the ending. It was a twist that comes when you are dealing with spies. I'm not a bit fan of spy novels and glad there was only a small amount in this.

The Crowded Grave by Martin Walker

adventurous emotional informative mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

There is a lot happening in St Denis keeping Bruno, chief of police, busy. There is a new magistrate, animal liberation activists letting ducks and geese free to wander, a body found at an archaeological site and a high level ministerial meeting taking place that may be the target of a terrorist attack by ETA. Bruno has to weave his magic to smooth the path through all the troubles and come out on top. Except for his trouble love life, nothing seems to go right.

There is a lot of things happening but it all makes for a very enjoyable read. The characters are likeable and life in a small France village seems ideal. But there is also danger and history always seems to come back and bite you. But this just makes things even better.

Great read.

Christmas Mourning by Andrea Frazer

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

It's Christmas and Falconer is spending the day with Carmichael and his family in the their small village. The weather turns and the village is snowed in and cut off from the rest of the world, no phones, no electricity and no way out or in. Then there is a death and they have to investigate. This is where their total ineptness as detectives is put on displayed. Procedurally they are rubbish and ultimately they don't solve the crime as someone confesses to what happened. Nothing the pair did helped in anyway with solving this case.  Eight down, six to go.

The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis

challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

This is a fictionalised autobiography, with the author being the main character. It could just as easily be called an alternate history novel.

Either way, I found it slow, dull and extremely repetitive. It's a long read but it didn't really need to be, it's just the author's style. It was mildly entertaining for the first 30% then I just lost interest in these characters and couldn't care less about them and what horrible things they inflicted upon themselves. All it does is highlight the downside to taking too many drugs to just get through the day.

If not for a power outage today, where I had nothing else I could do, I would still be reading this for another week.

I'm left wondering what the point is to this type of novel. Disappointed.

Flying Too High by Kerry Greenwood

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Phryne Fisher moves out of the Windsor Hotel and into her new home in St Kilda. Her previous successes make her sought out to help prevent a son from murdering his father. Two strong characters that constantly clash. However, the father dies and the son is accused and arrested. Phryne steps in, reluctantly, to prove his innocence.

I've not read this series in any kind of order and this is the second book in the series. It started out nicely, none of the problems that the later books in the series have, but kind of lost it's direction when the second case, one of kidnapping, was introduced. This could have been more interesting if it had just focused on the one case. When these stories go into multiple story lines things get lost and confusing. Though it was still an interesting read.

Strict and Peculiar by Andrea Frazer

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

The start of this had promise of a much better read than the previous books in the series as the main characters, Falconer and Carmichael, were in the book from the beginning. But I was quickly disappointed, as I usually am with this series. I fundamentally have no idea how Harry Falconer became an inspector. His whole approach is a combination of laziness and incompetence. They way he gets all indignant about a murder taking place is just stupid.

This book lacks details. The jumps in logic make for a terrible read.

The Nemesis Program by Scott Mariani

adventurous challenging tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Ben Hope has put his past behind him and is about to get married. Then an old girlfriend turns up seeking help and he drops everything to help after the pair are attacked while talking about her problems. It's the start of a journey that will take them around the world hunting those responsible for the attack. They find they are up against an organization so secret that to even mention it will likely lead to a person's death.

It's clear that nothing can kill Ben, no matter how many people are sent after him to kill him by  whatever method they choose. He always comes out on top. 

This is a bit of a long read, but unfortunately, the ending is short sharp and incomplete. It really felt like the author had reached a certain number of predetermined pages and stopped. Very disappointing conclusion.

Standing in the Shadows by Peter Robinson

emotional informative mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This is a story that goes in a big circle, ending where it started. Read the book and you'll know what I mean.

This book is two stories, one from 1980 and the other from 2019. Of course they merge and in doing so a 40 year old mystery is solved. It begins in 1980 Leed's, at the time of the Yorkshire Ripper, with the death of a university student. DCI Banks and his team become involved in 2019 with the discovery of a skeleton during an archeological dig. The team have to work out who the victim is, not an easy task, but their inquires lead to many questions and hidden secrets.

I really enjoyed this, it was like visiting an old friend. Sad as times as it's the last book before the author's death. I've read the entire series except for one book, which I will read. It took me back to why I really enjoyed this series. I shall miss Alan Banks.

The Shattered Skies by John Birmingham

adventurous challenging slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Although this has an interesting edge, it is a bit a long drawn out tale. Too long. Too drawn out. There is an over abundance of adjectives, especially in conversations, that is distracting and slows down any action and excitement that is building. Just when things start to happen, it slows down and gets side tracked instead of just letting it flow and be engaging.

The start of this was slow and confusing as one tried to understand the competing forces, who were the good guys, the bad guys and the down right nasty bastards. Then there were the sneaky bastards who you couldn't trust. It was all confusing. But this is just a battle in space, set way in the future where one side is trying to take over everything.

If not for the everlasting confusion it was entertaining.

Music to Die For by Andrea Frazer

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

I only read these books as I already own them and they are sitting on the shelf to read. Otherwise I wouldn't bother with them. I didn't really enjoy this at all as it was a long drawn out series of character introductions, police interviews and a sudden end. So much of it was repetitive, as usual, and the main characters feel inconsistent and, basically, totally unbelievable. I wouldn't recommend them to anyone.