Take a photo of a barcode or cover
patchworkbunny's Reviews (2.12k)
Kathryn Fox's crime series follows Dr Anya Crichton, who specialises in dealing with victims of sexual assaults. Malicious Intent and Without Consent were both excellent reads but her novels have gone slowly downhill since and I think Death Mask might be the end for me.
For some reason she decided to transplant Anya to America to cover the seedy side of American football even though she tars Aussie rules and soccer with the same brush. I find it very hard to believe that 90% of football players are rapists or the awful attitude of fans and the media towards victims that is portrayed here. Surely I'm not completely ignorant of the culture surrounding the game?
Whilst Anya is an established character I found the characters to be a bit flat and there was no real chemistry between the leading couple. The plot seemed to be wavering between legal drama (we know from the start who was involved in the rapes) and crime mystery but not hitting the mark with either. Whilst the crimes that occur are horrific, I did feel Anya felt a bit high and mighty and would have worked a bit better if she came across as flawed herself. It all seemed a bit too black and white for me. The players that were supposedly good got very little page space and I was left at the end not really understanding the reporter's actions.
For some reason she decided to transplant Anya to America to cover the seedy side of American football even though she tars Aussie rules and soccer with the same brush. I find it very hard to believe that 90% of football players are rapists or the awful attitude of fans and the media towards victims that is portrayed here. Surely I'm not completely ignorant of the culture surrounding the game?
Whilst Anya is an established character I found the characters to be a bit flat and there was no real chemistry between the leading couple. The plot seemed to be wavering between legal drama (we know from the start who was involved in the rapes) and crime mystery but not hitting the mark with either. Whilst the crimes that occur are horrific, I did feel Anya felt a bit high and mighty and would have worked a bit better if she came across as flawed herself. It all seemed a bit too black and white for me. The players that were supposedly good got very little page space and I was left at the end not really understanding the reporter's actions.
A short and sad little story with a fairy tale quality, Monsieur Linh is a refugee with nothing left other than a child he carries everywhere with him. He does not speak the language and whilst he manages to befriend a local, there is a feeling of isolation and loss throughout. Originally published in French as La petite fille de Monsieur Linh, it has been translated into English by Euan Cameron.
The cover blurb states there's an “extraordinary twist” but it seems quite clear to the reader what Monsieur Linh fails to see himself. The simple prose works well for a short read (130 pages). Much more and I think I would have lost interest. However Claudel does well to convey Linh's state of mind without complex character development.
Monsieur Linh is obviously not French so I'm not sure why the translator kept the title of Monsieur instead of using Mr or whatever would have been used in his own country.
The cover blurb states there's an “extraordinary twist” but it seems quite clear to the reader what Monsieur Linh fails to see himself. The simple prose works well for a short read (130 pages). Much more and I think I would have lost interest. However Claudel does well to convey Linh's state of mind without complex character development.
Monsieur Linh is obviously not French so I'm not sure why the translator kept the title of Monsieur instead of using Mr or whatever would have been used in his own country.
Commonly described as “Harry Potter for adults”, The Magicians is much more of a homage to the Chronicles of Narnia, with a passing nod to JK Rowling's world and a dash of Pullman here and there. I even thought Quentin and Eliot's friendship was a bit Brideshead at times, especially when Eliot began his descent into the bottle. Lev Grossman is obviously a huge fan of the high fantasy canon but I think he weaves those ideas into a world unique to him.
Brakebills is an Ivy League college with a difference. Yes, every student is insanely intelligent and most likely a social outcast in the real world, but they also have the power of magic. Quentin had always been a bit of a loner, with an unrequited love of his best friend's girlfriend and an obsession with the childhood books of Fillory. The world of Fillory and the Chatwin children is clearly based on C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia and the books become more and more important to the story as time goes on. Once at Brakebills, it seems everyone has read them.
Going back to the comparison to Harry Potter, I never felt that world was very real. It might have been entertaining but it was all very black and white and full of the fantastical. The Magicians comes across as very real, despite the fact that there's magic and things that are not understood. At one point, a professor warns them not to dig to deeply into the why, just to concentrate on the how.
At the core of the novel is the idea that no good can come of chasing fantasies no matter how much you think your real life sucks. Quentin has never been particularly happy with his lot but there are moments that he will look back and and think “if only”.
At times I felt it was a little long. It is quite slow paced, which is by no means a bad thing, but those looking for an action packed adventure story might want to look elsewhere. The action scenes were probably my least favourite aspects of the book, not entirely convincing and I did tend to skim over them. The ending is fairly open but with the release of the sequel this September, I think we can now guess what it means for Quentin.
Brakebills is an Ivy League college with a difference. Yes, every student is insanely intelligent and most likely a social outcast in the real world, but they also have the power of magic. Quentin had always been a bit of a loner, with an unrequited love of his best friend's girlfriend and an obsession with the childhood books of Fillory. The world of Fillory and the Chatwin children is clearly based on C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia and the books become more and more important to the story as time goes on. Once at Brakebills, it seems everyone has read them.
Going back to the comparison to Harry Potter, I never felt that world was very real. It might have been entertaining but it was all very black and white and full of the fantastical. The Magicians comes across as very real, despite the fact that there's magic and things that are not understood. At one point, a professor warns them not to dig to deeply into the why, just to concentrate on the how.
At the core of the novel is the idea that no good can come of chasing fantasies no matter how much you think your real life sucks. Quentin has never been particularly happy with his lot but there are moments that he will look back and and think “if only”.
At times I felt it was a little long. It is quite slow paced, which is by no means a bad thing, but those looking for an action packed adventure story might want to look elsewhere. The action scenes were probably my least favourite aspects of the book, not entirely convincing and I did tend to skim over them. The ending is fairly open but with the release of the sequel this September, I think we can now guess what it means for Quentin.
Non is a housewife in Wales, 1921, where thousands of lives have been forever scarred by the war. Her husband, Davey, returns a different man and she is determined to discover what happened to him in the war to change him so. She is raising a child that is not hers and does not speak and begins to wonder if Osian is a product of her husband's secret life.
I was immediately drawn into the world of the Davies and didn't feel I had to make the effort to get to know the characters, they were there in full colour from the start. My heart was already breaking for Osian on page 19, yet it never becomes a depressing read. It shows her skill that Mari can make a story about post traumatic stress give you the warm and fuzzies. Her writing is warm and tender, full of charm and undoubtedly Welsh. Despite the difference in subject matter and narrative, you can hear the same voice behind this as The Earth Hums in B Flat.
The story is full of details of life after World War I, a period of much change, where women, once in charge of things and learning how to do a man's job, must return to household duties, if they were lucky enough that their husbands came home. Many conversations are made against the backdrop of painstaking housework yet there is the hope of modern appliances hinted at here and there. Mentions of the political situations in Wales and Ireland are no more than you would expect a family to discuss over the kitchen table and gives just the right amount of credence to this slice of life in the not so glamourous twenties.
We can now give a name to the conditions suffered by Davey, his father and Osian, but in the twenties families had to cope knowing only that there was something not right with their loved ones. I think Non's visit to the Doctor signalled the start of a different understanding in the medical world despite the nurse's blindness to the mental state of her patients.
I must admit I wasn't sure about the title at first but now I see it works perfectly for a metaphor of Non bringing her husband back to her. The title is taken from a poem by Robert Graves, To Bring the Dead to Life.
A book to read in one sitting!
I was immediately drawn into the world of the Davies and didn't feel I had to make the effort to get to know the characters, they were there in full colour from the start. My heart was already breaking for Osian on page 19, yet it never becomes a depressing read. It shows her skill that Mari can make a story about post traumatic stress give you the warm and fuzzies. Her writing is warm and tender, full of charm and undoubtedly Welsh. Despite the difference in subject matter and narrative, you can hear the same voice behind this as The Earth Hums in B Flat.
The story is full of details of life after World War I, a period of much change, where women, once in charge of things and learning how to do a man's job, must return to household duties, if they were lucky enough that their husbands came home. Many conversations are made against the backdrop of painstaking housework yet there is the hope of modern appliances hinted at here and there. Mentions of the political situations in Wales and Ireland are no more than you would expect a family to discuss over the kitchen table and gives just the right amount of credence to this slice of life in the not so glamourous twenties.
We can now give a name to the conditions suffered by Davey, his father and Osian, but in the twenties families had to cope knowing only that there was something not right with their loved ones. I think Non's visit to the Doctor signalled the start of a different understanding in the medical world despite the nurse's blindness to the mental state of her patients.
I must admit I wasn't sure about the title at first but now I see it works perfectly for a metaphor of Non bringing her husband back to her. The title is taken from a poem by Robert Graves, To Bring the Dead to Life.
A book to read in one sitting!
The 9th book in the Kitty the Werewolf series, this could be alternately titled Kitty Goes to San Francisco. Had I been one to read cover blurb I would have saved it for my flight there in September. It was nice to have a werewolf guide to the city for part of it, with a lot of the action taking part under the city's Chinatown.
The story seemed to be over before it started and didn't have a lot of content. I did like the addition of Chinese myths including the nine tailed fox and Kitty's search into historical supernaturals but didn't think there was a lot of ongoing plot or character development from the previous book. It's sad to see the chemistry has gone between Kitty and Cormac and I'm really not sure about his new personality.
Overall an easy read for anyone already hooked on the series but I wouldn't recommend it as a standalone novel.
The story seemed to be over before it started and didn't have a lot of content. I did like the addition of Chinese myths including the nine tailed fox and Kitty's search into historical supernaturals but didn't think there was a lot of ongoing plot or character development from the previous book. It's sad to see the chemistry has gone between Kitty and Cormac and I'm really not sure about his new personality.
Overall an easy read for anyone already hooked on the series but I wouldn't recommend it as a standalone novel.
Sympathy for the Devil is the third book in the Morris and Chastain Investigation series by Justin Gustainis. Quincey Morris is a paranormal investigator and Libby Chastain is a white witch and occasionally their work brings them together. This time it's because a presidential candidate has been possessed by a demon determined to make it to the White House and hell has sent its very own assassin to sort things out.
The premise is a good one but I felt that too much time was spent on politics and that it could easily have been a non-supernatural tale of corrupt politicians. There's not a lot that happens that couldn't just be put down to not very nice people. I understand politics is full of them! Not being American, the run up to the presidential elections is not something I have a lot of understanding of and I only take a passing interest in the whole affair from afar. Though having watched The West Wing, I do have the ability to be entertained by a fictional account but this just didn't hit the mark.
Having been told the book works as a standalone read I felt there were just too many references to something that happened previously for that to be the case. I may be more interested in the earlier books to understand a bit more about the relationship between Morris and Chastain. For a series with their names in, they didn't get much page space. There are just too many characters for a real understanding of any of them. I get that in politics there are a lot of people involved but they didn't all need their own story.
Being told from various different viewpoints, there wasn't much mystery to the investigation. Nothing to keep me gripped and I struggled to get through it at my normal pace. I do think it would appeal to a different audience...not to sound sexist but maybe it's a man's read. There are numerous references to the stereotypical male fantasies which come across as a bit cheesy (but I'd probably say the same if it was reversed).
The premise is a good one but I felt that too much time was spent on politics and that it could easily have been a non-supernatural tale of corrupt politicians. There's not a lot that happens that couldn't just be put down to not very nice people. I understand politics is full of them! Not being American, the run up to the presidential elections is not something I have a lot of understanding of and I only take a passing interest in the whole affair from afar. Though having watched The West Wing, I do have the ability to be entertained by a fictional account but this just didn't hit the mark.
Having been told the book works as a standalone read I felt there were just too many references to something that happened previously for that to be the case. I may be more interested in the earlier books to understand a bit more about the relationship between Morris and Chastain. For a series with their names in, they didn't get much page space. There are just too many characters for a real understanding of any of them. I get that in politics there are a lot of people involved but they didn't all need their own story.
Being told from various different viewpoints, there wasn't much mystery to the investigation. Nothing to keep me gripped and I struggled to get through it at my normal pace. I do think it would appeal to a different audience...not to sound sexist but maybe it's a man's read. There are numerous references to the stereotypical male fantasies which come across as a bit cheesy (but I'd probably say the same if it was reversed).
The cover blurb calls them contemporary fables and I think it goes some way to categorise this short story collection that I'm finding hard to describe. A little bit whimsical, sometimes dark and all about life, love and death , the stories are short and surreal. The title is apt, at times I felt like I was reading myself a bedtime story for grown-ups.
It starts with a story about a book with no words and a woman that makes the book hugely successful by shouting about it. I think that's a great start myself, so many people give publicity to things when they oppose them. As the book is filled with words we meet a duck that falls in love with a rock, a house that befriends the sea, aliens and monsters, men and women. I especially liked the story about the octopus which has inspired the cover.
I think saying they are reworked versions of age old stories is doing the collection a disservice, but my brain made connections to The Ugly Ducking, The Little Mermaid and The Emperor's New Clothes among others, enough to feel that Loory was inspired by them.
I suppose this is one of those books you're either going to love or hate. It brought a smile to my face and I was reluctant to put it down so it's safe to say I loved it. I'm sure there's lots of analysis that could be done but I'm going to leave it at that!
It starts with a story about a book with no words and a woman that makes the book hugely successful by shouting about it. I think that's a great start myself, so many people give publicity to things when they oppose them. As the book is filled with words we meet a duck that falls in love with a rock, a house that befriends the sea, aliens and monsters, men and women. I especially liked the story about the octopus which has inspired the cover.
I think saying they are reworked versions of age old stories is doing the collection a disservice, but my brain made connections to The Ugly Ducking, The Little Mermaid and The Emperor's New Clothes among others, enough to feel that Loory was inspired by them.
I suppose this is one of those books you're either going to love or hate. It brought a smile to my face and I was reluctant to put it down so it's safe to say I loved it. I'm sure there's lots of analysis that could be done but I'm going to leave it at that!
Zoe and Sally are estranged sisters, both living in Bath but never meeting. They only hear about each other's lives from the grapevine. When one of Sally's daughter's friends is found dead, Zoe is on the team investigating and slowly the two women's lives become drawn together once more.
Another pacy thriller from Mo Hayder. Unlike her other standalone novels, this feels a lot more like the Jack Caffrey series in style and, of course, in the familiar West Country location. Bath is an unusual choice for a thriller, no one expects the very middle class city to have a seedy underbelly and it's a good choice for highlighting Sally's financial troubles in a world where everyone else seems to have money.
I do wonder if she is planning to write a follow up. The ending will definitely leave readers screaming for more and I can see Zoe and Sally being a good foundation for a series. Whilst not quite as terrifying as Birdman, she still manages to be the scariest crime writer out there!
Another pacy thriller from Mo Hayder. Unlike her other standalone novels, this feels a lot more like the Jack Caffrey series in style and, of course, in the familiar West Country location. Bath is an unusual choice for a thriller, no one expects the very middle class city to have a seedy underbelly and it's a good choice for highlighting Sally's financial troubles in a world where everyone else seems to have money.
I do wonder if she is planning to write a follow up. The ending will definitely leave readers screaming for more and I can see Zoe and Sally being a good foundation for a series. Whilst not quite as terrifying as Birdman, she still manages to be the scariest crime writer out there!
