Book Review(s): The Long Way Home, Lady Windermere's Fan, Field of Prey & The Winter People
 |
| Missing You |
Hurt from a breakup that once shattered her life, NYPD detective Kat Donovan has devoted all her energy to solving cases and trying to piece together the events that led up to her father's mysterious death around 20 years ago, leaving her naturally with no time to seek out new relationships or indulge in casual dating. Thus when her friend Stacy signs her up on an online dating website YouAreJustMyType.com even without her permission, she is at first revolted by the idea, eventually finding herself stuck in a loop of indecision.
Soon she caves in to the curiosity and logs in. She starts busily scanning one profile after the other but stops on her tracks when she stumbles across her ex-boyfriend's. She reaches out to him in hopes that whatever had happened had happened, and that there is perhaps a second chance after all. However she is instantly shot-down and left dejected once again, but little does she realise that in doing so she has unknowingly stepped into a murky morass filled with dangers unseen and terrors untold.
Harlan Coben is one author whom I generally don't seek out per se, but Missing You really surprised me. Deftly mixing all elements that you would want from a tense nail-biting thriller, he keeps the mystery intriguing, with the pages literally flying by, and the well-constructed plot building up to a cracker of an ending. The very generic characterization is an obvious casualty, but that aside Coben gives the story such a thrilling and horrifying twist that you would want to think twice before meeting some random person on online dating websites.
 |
| Field of Prey |
If Missing You is good, Field of Prey is better! And from what I've read, it is by far the best in the Prey Series featuring Lucas Davenport. It's a serial killer story all right, but by revealing the guilty party at the very beginning, Sandford sets up a relentlessly thrilling cat-and-mouse game that spirals its way into a heart-pounding climax. Davenport as a character is an interesting and a satisfying departure from the usual cops that you read about in other police procedural series (Harry Bosch, Harry Hole, John Rebus, well.. you get the idea).
He is rich, well-settled, has a caring wife and two children, in addition to an adopted daughter Letty. He is also not your typical fictionalized policeman who figures out the clues and leads to the murders in a flick of a finger. Field of Prey is no exception. Sandford adroitly gives away the clues to the readers directly, making them impatiently wait for Lucas to connect the dots and "make the f**kin' leap", as a character puts midway through the novel. A gripping read from cover to cover!
 |
| Hallowe'en Party |
Agatha Christie's Spider's Web is adequately entertaining, but it looks like the Dame took the same premise as that of the short story The Adventure of the Cheap Flat published in Poirot Investigates. The mystery on the whole is very ordinary, given that the culprit can be very easily identified despite the authoress' attempts at misdirection. However, full credit to Charles Osborne for wonderfully novelising the 1954 play without losing its essence.
Hallowe'en Party, one of the last adventures featuring Hercule Poirot, is at best a mediocre tale of serial murders spanning over several years. The scene, as you might have guessed, is a Hallowe'en party in the town of Woodleigh Common and preparations are in full swing. The famous authoress Ariadne Oliver, who turns up at the behest of a Mrs. Judith Butler she befriended during a trip to Greece, is shocked when Joyce, a young girl of about 13 years, claims to have seen a murder. Although her statements are not taken seriously, she is soon enough found drowned in an apple bobbing pail, and Mrs. Oliver, by now realising that there's something more than meets the eye, calls on Poirot to unspool the mystery.
The main problem with this story is that there simply isn't enough drama and thrills to keep the reader engaged. The cardboard characters are virtually indistinguishable from one another, for they all keep parroting the same dialogues as Poirot engages in conversations with them. After putting so much trouble to beat around the bush for almost half the book, Christie unsuccessfully tries to build some suspense by killing off another character, leading to the final big reveal that's neither surprising nor clever. You will want to stay away from this party.
 |
| The Skin Collector |
A new type of serial killer is on the prowl in the streets of New York and he is far more disturbing than the Bone Collector. He is the Skin Collector. The latest Lincoln Rhyme thriller not only borrows its title from the popular novel that spawned the whole series, but also feels as if it's a cheap imitation of it. The characters are flat and the twists themselves appear forced, with too many references to the Bone Collector popping up across the book, needlessly prolonging an already messy plot. Normally I can trust Deaver to come up with a really nasty guy, but this time around he fails miserably, with the psychological insight offered to justify his motivations making no sense at all. I am beginning to get the impression that the series is all but inching towards its inevitable demise.
 |
| The Winter People |
I am really torn about The Winter People. On one side the writing is beautiful, wonderfully evoking an atmosphere of creepiness and dread which is absolutely essential for a ghost story such as this. With a riveting narrative easily propelling the story forward, we find ourselves in the company of Ruthie and Fawn who find their mother suddenly missing at a time the village of West Hall has been gripped by strange disappearances and gruesome deaths. Is she alive? Will Ruth be find her alive and well? Told from multiple points of view from two different time periods - 1908 and present day - The Winter People makes for a compelling read, even though it takes a "thriller" turn towards the end. What I didn't like about the book were the climactic reveals themselves, which felt out of place and a little unsatisfactory. Overall, a very well-written spooky read.
 |
| Lady Windermere's Fan |
Reading Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan was an experience like no other. It's such an ineffable literary masterpiece that I'm letting his own words speak for itself: "History is merely gossip. But scandal is gossip made tedious by morality... Experience is the name every one gives to their mistakes... Repentance is quite out of date. And besides, if a woman really repents, she has to go to a bad dressmaker, otherwise no one believes in her. And nothing in the world would induce me to do that... I can resist everything except temptation... Ideals are dangerous things. Realities are better. They wound, but they're better." And my favourite, which coincidentally was quoted by Mark Forsyth in The Elements of Eloquence as an example of Paradox: "In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it. The last is much the worst; the last is a real tragedy!" Beautiful. Just beautiful!
 |
| The Dead Will Tell |
A macabre Amish serial murder mystery from Linda Castillo, The Dead Will Tell abounds in gruesome murders, twisted characters and a very determined female protagonist, who fights to see justice against all insurmountable odds. That the big climactic reveal was thoroughly horrid and unexpected would be an understatement. But where the story loses steam is in its parallel subplot which feels a bit forced, as if it was brought in for the sole purpose providing a point of dramatic tension between the leads. It also wouldn't have hurt if the author had explored the main character of Kate a bit further beyond the usual investigation and romance, but since this is the sixth book in the series I guess I will have to read the others to get a fair idea.
 |
| The Long Way Home |
Louise Penny is undoubtedly one of the most gifted writers of our generation. Her books are more than your typical detective stories, often imbuing the murder investigations with deep-delving psychology, throwing light on the evil that lurks even in the kindest of hearts. And every time I have read her novels, it feels as though I have spent some time with the people in Three Pines. Clara, Peter, Ruth, Myrna, Olivier and his partner Gabri, and last of all Armand Gamache and his protege cum son-in-law Jean Guy are not mere characters, they leap off the pages and come alive in flesh and blood, each inhabitant of the village having evolved into distinct individuals, just like us.
And this time when I finished reading The Long Way Home, I was left emotionally drained. The long arduous journey undertaken in hopes of finding lost love and lost artistic inspiration (the words "mistaking movement for progress" ring so true!) is both stimulating and heart-breaking in equal measure, and yet so overwhelming that one wishes so much to be back at Three Pines, having a café au lait at the bistro. As a long time Louise Penny fan, I like the novel's more meditative (or rather philosophical) approach but I also wish the narrative didn't drag, especially in the middle. A worthy addition to the series nonetheless.
 |
| The Case of... |
I have been catching up big time on Gardner's Perry Mason mysteries for the last couple of months. Well this is not just because I want to declare myself a Mason completist, but it's also for the simple fact that I love the mysteries themselves. The ever infallible lawyer (shyster?) cum detective who goes out on a limb to protect his clients, innocent or otherwise, with his trusty secretary Della Street and P.I. Paul Drake by his side, delivers his legal razzle-dazzle in style, one that makes for the most entertaining courtroom theatrics ever employed. Of course, the stories have a formulaic appeal, and courts many not even put up with Mason's illegal manoeuvres in real life, but who the heck cares!
Comments
Post a Comment