The Dry by Jane Harper

 The Dry.  It starts with a funeral and a mystery of how Aaron Falk is connected to the deceased.  Three coffins are displayed in the front of the church.  Lying dead is Aaron’s friend Luke along with Luke’s wife and young son, Karen and Billy.   Luke and his family were murdered and it looks like it was murder-suicide.  Luke was found with half his head blown off, his shotgun next to him in his truck.  His wife and son were also shot but the baby, Charlotte, was left untouched. Is this situation what it appears or is there another explanation and motive?

As Aaron Falk stands against the wall in the church, some of the close knit community give him hard looks and I’m immediately hooked to know the backstory. Aaron is now a federal police officer, one who investigates financial crimes.  Aaron and his father were basically run out of the community almost 20 years ago as it was suspected one (or both) had something to do with a young woman’s death.

Aaron didn’t come back just to pay respects to his friend but because Luke’s father summoned him with a message. “Luke lied. You lied.” This is in reference to their alibi the day Ellie Deacon was found dead.

So you see, there are two stories intertwined in this mystery.  Luke and his family and young Ellie Deacon.  Aaron Falk was meant to stay only 24 hours, enough time to see his friend buried and head back to Melbourne but Luke’s father implores him to look into his son’s suicide and murder. Even though 20 years have passed since Ellie was found dead it seems as if it happened only a week ago, as far as some townspeople are concerned.  These mysteries dovetail into a satisfying end, in my opinion.  I’m a big fan of series so I will add this to the series I plan to immerse myself into this coming year.

The writing was very detailed, I could immerse myself into the story and see what was being described.  The author painted a picture of the harsh environment and climate, the relationships both warm and those tense.  So many passages I liked in this book.

“City people wanted to move to the country but weren’t prepared to look out and not see another soul between them and the horizon.”

“He could understand them seeking out the idyllic country life style; a lot of people did.  The idea had an enticing wholesome glow when it was considered from the back of a traffic jam or while crowed into a gardenless apartment.  They all had the same visions of breathing fresh., clean air and knowing their neighbors. The kids would eat homegrown veggies and learn the value of an honest day’s work.

But on arrival, as the empty moving truck disappears, they gazed around and were always taken aback by the crushing vastness of the open land.  The space was the thing that hit them first, there was so much of it.”

One of my favorite authors and I will buy anything Jane Harper publishes.

MIssing in Wales by Jenny O'Brien

 

DC Gariella Darin is a new officer in the police department having recently transfered from Swansea.

She is assigned to work with DI Rhys Walker who was the lead in the case for a missing man and baby five years prior. Izzy Grant could never let go or move on after her boyfriend Charlie and their 1 month old daughter Alys disappeared.  Charlie was taking Alys out to give Izzy a rest.

Izzy wakes from her nap and realizes they hadn’t returned.  The opening chapter drops you into Izzy’s mind as she experiences the terror of looking through the empty house, calling Charlie’s cell and getting no answer.  No sign of them or the car was ever found – this is in the begining. Then the cold case gets reopened.

There are some books where you peg who’s the killers or there are multiple suspects you can narrow down.  Nope, not this one.  There were a few times when it was slow moving but that doesn’t last long,  I never saw it coming, the villian was a surprise to me.

I liked DC Gaby Darin as soon as she was introduced and was delighted there is a second book upcoming and hopefully it’s a series. Oh, it should be mentioned this book is titled Silent Cry in the UK editions.  I say that so you don’t buy the same book twice.

I love the cover and this is how I armchair traveled to Wales.  Would that I could take Harry Potter’s Floo Powder and pop in near Swansea or Cardiff.  Alas……..

One By One by Ruth Ware

For those of us who read mystery novels you can usually figure out who the murderer is midway in the book.  I did and while I was hoping for a good twist near the end (which I did not get) it was still a decent mystery.  You have a group of people stranded in a French chalet and there is a murder.  One of those people is obviously the murderer.

This reminded me so much of the plot in The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley although the Foley book is set in Scotland and Ware's is set in the France.  In both books you have a male and female "host" (read that as employees) of the lodge/chalet.  The guest party consists of well educated snobby city folk who arrive at an isolated vacation locale.  Weather locks them in but the lockdown doesn't occur until a death is discovered.  In The Hunting Party it's heavy snowfall keeping them from the outside world.  In One by One it's also snow with an included avalanche.

The friends and coworkers in both books are immediately wary of one another as they know one of them is a murderer. The male employees in both books are handsome and in great shape (sexy) and the female employees from both books have secrets which will be revealed in time.

It's not a rip off book plot but there are great similaries.  For what it's worth I liked The Hunting Party more however I will read more by Ruth Ware.

Ruth Ware is a British psychological crime author living in England.  She has quite a few books published and I look forward to exploring more by this author.

Sharing with Joy for British Isles Friday.

The Witch Elm by Tana French

 

This is the second time I picked up Witcn Elm as I didn’t get very far into the story the first go round. Admittedly it was my frame of mind as I had been hoping Tana would continue with the Dublin Murder Squad. With my husband and I staying in so much these days we decided to have our own book club.  We ordered a few books from Thift Books and set to reading The Witch Elm together.  It was enjoyable keeping the same pace and discussing the plot.

As with any Tana French mystery the writing was excellent. I do wish the book description hadn’t given away so much of the story ahead of time.
It was already established one of our main characters, Toby Hennessey, was a successful handsome man who came from a good family and always seemed to be….lucky.  That is how he is described.

One evening he is awakened during a home invasion and is viciously assaulted, leaving him with devasting injuries.  He decides to spend time at Ivy House with his uncle Hugo as he recovers and also to help his uncle.  Hugo has his own medical issues so its an ideal situation for both parties. At some point during  a family visit a human skull is discovered in the 200 year old Witch elm in the garden.

All of the above is known from the book jacket.

Incidentally, Ivy House is the ancesteral home of Toby’s grandparents and now Hugo, a gathering place for all family members to visit and have Sunday lunch. A place Toby and his cousins Leon and Susanna spent summers growing up and having parties.
As always Tana French’s writing style has you fully involved.  I felt like I was in the shadows witnessing these conversations between the cousins Toby, Susanna and Leon and those with Hugo.

The small trivial parts of a conversation such as Susanna ragging on Leon for picking through a bowl of nuts. “Stop picking  through, other people like cashews too, and besides it’s disgusting. ” That sort of natural banter that makes the scene so real.

Was I surprised by the ending? Yes.  There was an incident with a detective and Toby near the end that didn’t ring true with me.

Tana French is an excellent author and I will preorder any book she’s about to have published.  I can’t say that about any other writers with the exception of Jane Harper and Robert Galbraith.

Now for a bit of fun!  The character desciptions were detailed enough that we had our own mental images and tried to imagine a cast to play them if this were a movie.  Below see the decsription of Toby – thick straight blonde hair, very blue eyes and an open boyish face.

I’m picturing Emily Blunt as Susanna, Charlie Hunnam as Toby and Tom Hiddleston as Leon.

Anthony Hopkins as Hugo Hennessey, Saoirse Ronan as Melissa and David Tennant as Detective Rafferty.

Did you read the book? If so did you like it or wish Tana would go back to writing Dublin Murder Squad?

The Trespasser by Tana French

 The next Tana French publication always has me chomping at the bit, eager to read the latest goings on in the Dublin Murder Squad.

I was fortunate enough to get The Trespasser from the library shortly after it released. Honestly, in spite of some slow parts, I devoured it over a weekend. Rather than hash out a reiteration of other reviews and synopsis of the plot I’ll get to the pros and cons.

So, the previous book introduced Antoinette Conway and slid Stephen Moran back on to the scene. Moran was in Faithful Place as a minor character and had a bigger role in The Secret Place. I like him and hope to read more about him. Conway on the other hand was not a character I could warm up to. I just didn’t like her in the previous book so, to be honest, I was disappointed she held such a starring role in this book.

Midway through the book I thought it dragged a little. Too much talk and theorizing about gang connections (this will make sense when you read it) but then we turned a corner. The carrot is always dangling about who may have been the murderer and the guesses range from

1) The one they are focusing on is so obvious, it can’t be them,

2) If they are focusing on one person so much that it can’t be them, maybe that’s what the author wants you think and indeed…it is them,

3) You’ll be blindsided by a big revelation about 40 pages from the end and there is the ah-ha moment, the big reveal.

She has done that, a big twist, so you can’t rule anything out. By the end of the book I think I understood Conway better but I hope she won’t be in any future books.  Please, Ms. French, have Conway retire. The twist at the end was good. Well written with many theories and heated discussions between the detectives.

In the latter half of the book Detective Moran uses the phrase “tickety-boo” and I immediately remembered Joy writing about this on one of the British Isles Friday posts.  I’d never heard the term before and then it pops up in this novel.

Now I wait another 2 years for the next book in this series. That’s about how long it seems to take for publication. Personally I am hoping Cassie Maddox makes another appearance again.  Great character but….that was a different couple of books awhile back.

Do you read the Dublin Murder Squad series and if so, what is your favorite book in the lineup?

Scrublands by Chris Hammer

 

I’ll say straight away that I liked this book and would read more by this author. There were a few things that I didn’t care for but overall, what a great plot. Anyone can read from the book cover/descriptor the story of a priest who guns down 5 men in front of his church. The journalist, Martin Scarsden, arrives in town to report on how the residents are coping a year after the tragedy. Martin is suffering from PTSD after an incident in the Gaza strip, his editor sending him out on this story to give him a chance to get back in the journo game. Why would an admired priest turn killer?

Best I can describe the way the story unfolds is to think of a nesting doll. There are layers and layers of stories that intertwine, the residents’ dark secrets, the greed, guilt and love and motivations of the characters. There are multiple crimes that are revealed in this investigative journalist’s report.
Some of the character names are a hoot – you have Harley Snouch and Mandalay “Mandy” Blonde who are supporting characters.

I’m learned about bush fires in the Scrubland, how they work, quite different from a house fire. Smoke inhalation gets you in a house fire but a bushfire flat out cooks you. This was addressed in another Australian book I enjoyed, Jane Harper’s debut book The Dry. The scenery described is almost apocalyptic, the land has a harshness and character of its own.

What I didn’t care for was how the character Codger Harris was introduced. He’s waaaay out in the Scrubland where it’s dry and extremely hot. When Martin arrives at Codger’s dilapidated house he finds the old man inside, naked and masturbating. Sorry but that part just didn’t fit into the story, it didn’t blend and it was an unnecessary detail to introduce us to Codger. It was established how unbearably hot it is, so much so that Codger didn’t wear clothes in this isolated part of the scrubland. By the way, he is an integral part of this story and has his own interesting past which dovetails with the ending.

The Secret Place by Tana French

The Secret Place is a 2014 novel by Tana French set in Ireland.   Anyone who knows me or frequents this blog knows I am a die-hard Tana French fan. I loved the four previous books.  In publication order they are:

In The Woods

The Likeness

Faithful Place

Broken Harbor

When Amazon put it on sale I snapped it up at the amazing price of $7.99 for my Paperwhite.  I couldn’t wait to read this book, number 5 in the Dublin Murder Squad series.

There were various interesting discussions on Goodreads about the book as well as fellow bookworms chiming in about their favorites in the series.

I think the biggest turnoff for me was the high school girl babble.  Most of the book is set at St. Kilda’s, a girls’ boarding school in Dublin. The chapters alternate between the points of view of detective Stephen Moran and student Holly Mackey.

From Wiki, because it’s easier to use their synopsis and I’ll tell you my beefs later…..:

“The key characters are eight teenage girls, members of rival cliques. Chris Harper, a teenage boy, is murdered on St. Kilda’s grounds. The initial police investigation is inconclusive. A year later, 16-year-old Holly volunteers information to Moran. She has discovered a picture of Chris, along with the statement “I know who killed him”, posted on a school bulletin board called the “Secret Place”. Moran is assigned to work with senior detective Antoinette Conway to investigate. Moran and Conway question all eight girls and find that there were some close relationships between Chris and most of the eight girls. After further investigation, they find evidence that links Chris’s murder to Holly’s clique. When the detectives grill Holly, her father, detective Frank Mackey, intervenes and complicates the investigation.”

About 20% of the way into the book I was ready to pull my hair out.  I was very much concerned I would start talking like so many people I overhear these days. Such as:

OMGGGG, I’m like, so into his style and, like, seriously….why would anyone wear that color combination *giggle giggle giggle* shrieks of teen-aged laughter.  I’m like, just go talk to him.  And she’s like, noooooo, I couldn’t.

The use of “like” and “goes” (in place of He Said or I Replied) is prevalent these days. There are some adults at my work place who talk  this way. What happened to proper English?

That being said, Tana French is brilliant in her research and getting it down how many teenagers speak these days. It was a believable interview between detective Moran and any of the young women he questioned.  I personally had enough by the 25% mark.  that’s investing a bit of time and I kept on because Tana French is an amazing author.  I love her.

The other thing that bothered me was I only liked Detective Moran.  Antoinette Conway was such a bitch and again, well written Ms. French, the portrayal was spot on evoking my dislike of her.  So, being completely honest, I skimmed through much of the book from there on out, only dedicating myself to the detectives and Holly Mackey because they weren’t driving me slap crazy.

Since I read how it all shook out, who left the note on The Secret Place and found out who killed Chris – I could see there were some great twists in the book.  This just wasn’t for me.  If it were the first book I read by French I may never have read others.

So, since the Goodreads community stated their favorites I have to say, The Likeness was one of mine.  And Frank Mackey in both The Likeness and Faithful Place is my favorite detective.

I am very excited about the sixth book, The Trespasser, set to be released later this year.

Friday on my Mind and Dark Saturday by Nicci French

 

Friday on my Mind: This is the fifth book in the Frieda Klein series. It starts with a bloated corpse floating down the Thames River. Once the police have pulled the body out of the water they check for identification but discover there is no wallet or cell phone. The fully clothed body of the man has a hospital band which reads Dr. F. Klein.

Frieda is now a suspect in a murder.

“It’s complicated being Frieda’s friend.” Reuben made that statement as a group of her friends and supporters were gathering, trying to figure out where she was. Frieda is accused of murder in this book and we are introduced to a new cast of detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department. My favorite detective, Malcolm Karlsson, is still making appearances in this series. Also a shadowy sort of character named Levin sits in and observes on an investigation. Not sure where he will fit in, reminds you of a CIA characters i movies.

Frieda puts me in mind of a more polished, cooler version of Jessica Fletcher of the Murder She Wrote stories. There is always a murder connecting and threading itself into her life. It’s not a cozy mystery for sure. I was sad to read this one as I liked the character who departed.

Foodie stuff….…

“She went to the shops and bought herself enough for the next few days; milk, bread and butter, some bags of salad and Sicilian tomatoes, salty blue cheese, smoked salmon, raspberries and a little carton of cream.

Once home, she had a long bath, then roamed through each room, making doubly sure everything was in its proper place. She ate smoked salmon on rye bread and drank a single glass of white wine.”

Dark Saturday: This one started off so slow I almost didn’t get going. But then…..glad I finished it. Perfect ending to bring you into the Sunday book (which I read first ).

Freida Klein owes someone a favor and it’s time to collect. This rather shadowy character named Levin (who may or may not be involved with the Metropolitan Police) helped her out once. He’s very mysterious. Anyway, in return he wants her to evaluate a mental patient. This patient, Hannah Docherty, was accused of murdering her family 10 years prior. She is now in an institution, old before her time and clearly is being abused.

When Frieda is called upon to give an assessment she comes to the conclusion that Hannah may well have been innocent. Naturally this stirs up a hornets nest with the Commissioner of the Met Police, a man who seems to have a serious and unreasonable dislike of Frieda. Now add some eerie events which may or may not involve Dean Reeve, a stalker the police believe is dead. It gets real in this book!

Food and drink

“Josef was cooking some rich, meaty casserole and Reuben was smoking a cigarette and drinking red wine out of a vast goblet.”

A conversation between Reuben and Frieda after he has been diagnosed with cancer:

“You’d be irritatingly stoical, not me. No one is going to say he lost his brave fight against cancer, “said Reuben.
“You haven’t lost it yet, anyway.” is Frieda’s reply….
“They’re not going to say that because I’m not in a fucking battle. I’m the battleground. That’s what. You remember that. Dying isn’t a moral failure, it’s not a sign of weakness.”

“I agree.”

“Good. Wine?”

“Please.”

I totally get Reuben here. Been there.

Another quote – this (to me) is a great description when the murderer’s identity is revealed and how the person reacts after some bluffing and bravado:

“Frieda had seen dynamite demolish buildings from her consulting room window. After the explosion they would stand for a few moments, holding their shape, then their edges would lose solidity and all of a sudden the edifices would waver, then dissolve into a shower of bricks and mortar. Now XXX’s face lost it’s fixed expression of outrage; the body seemed to fold in on itself. XX was diminished.”

I could just see that scene play out, it was tense.

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

Seven friends arrive at a lodge in Scotland to celebrate New Years Eve.  They are old friends from Oxford and get together for a well planned party.  The vacations are planned by a different member of the group, rotating the making of arrangements over the last ten years.

This year it's Emma who plans the get together, having them gather at a very isolated estate in beautiful Scotland.  The intent is to catch up with each other's lives and ring in the new year together.  All of them have little secrets.  Eventually, one is missing then found murdered. Of the seven friends, one is probably a killer. 

After university people tend to drift apart, get other interests and just move on.  It seems this gathering isn't as easy as years prior - the laughter is too loud, the comments are barbed but delivered with a smile so it's not serious, that sort of thing. 

I purposely didn't read any reviews because I love being surprised and while there was one character I hoped it might be our author kept us guessing.  You knew the missing guest and their body had been found but lack of a pronoun didn't narrow it down for us readers.  Was it one of the men or a woman? 

The story is told by alternating points of views.  Heather is the manager and arranges for the guests' comforts and provides information, such as a ships purser may do.  She holds a secret as to why she lives in this stark wilderness.  Doug is the gamekeeper and has his own secrets about a violent past.  Him I like - well, Heather also as these are the only genuine characters in this narrative.

There are many characters in this book and I had thought I may be confused by all of them when I started reading, but then it's actually easy to know them apart. There are the seven guests comprised of three couples and the single woman Katie.

The locale and weather play a signficant part, almost a character of it's own right.  The snow storm was heavy enough to block access in or out of the estate. Descriptions of the cold were frequent, so vivid you could feel it.
 Everyone was staying put whether they liked it or not.  Not a comforting thought with one person dead and killer evidently among them.

In my opinion this is a good mystery which kept me turning the pages. 
Would I read more by this author?  Oh, absolutely. I'm on the list at the library for The Guest List by Lucy Foley.

Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson

The beginning of this book starts with an except of a poem

by Dorothea Mackeller:

I love a Sunburnt Country, 

A land of sweeping plains, 

Of ragged mountain ranges, 

Of droughts and flooding plains.

Bill Bryson is an entertaining, witty author of nonfiction books.  In my longing for travel I read about other countries.  Armchair traveling.  That works right now.  I have a few of his other books on the to-read shelf.

Stories I liked: There was a landowner, Thomas Austin  who released 24 wild rabbits to hunt. Those rabbits bred, naturally, causing a devastating  effect on the country, eating their way through everything. The history of how two dozen rabbits became 3 million and what carnage they caused was incredible.


Reading about the Aboriginal artwork was interesting to me as well. "Imagine if there were some people in France who could take you to the caves in Lascaux and explain in detail the significance of the paintings.  Why the bison was bolting from the the herd, what the three wavy lines mean - because it was as fresh and sensible to them as if it were done yesterday. Well, Aboriginals can do that.  It is an unparallelled achievement, scarely appreciated.  That is worth a mention here."

I liked reading about the Aboriginal art but was saddened to read about their treatment hundreds of years ago as well as this century.

Creatures! The many toxic poisonous creatures that live in Australia gobsmacked me.  All in one place on earth, how did they develop such dangerous levels of venom?! Also, the saltwater crocodile stories were very interesting.

Stories that could have been cut short:  At the one third mark in this narrative I found his comedic writing amusing but could tell I wasn't going to get the history lesson I desired. The side stories of his escapades such as running from dogs he never saw and a long winded explanation of how all dogs universally  despise him went on a bit long.

The explanation of cricket was meant to be funny but it wore thin fast.  It would have been interesting to read how they actually played the game.

Overall it was a good book and kept my interest for most of the 305 pages.  I had previously enjoyed his book about England, Notes from a Small Island, tempered with reservations about his behavior there. 

Would I read more by Bryson?  Maybe. I have a few books planned for camping trips and will leave them for others at the campground library.

Thursday's Children by Nicci French

 

Thursday’s Children is book #4 in the Frieda Klein series. This one moved slowly.  I’m glad it wasn’t my first acquaintance with Frieda Klein as I may have put the series on the back burner.  So, having read five books in this eight book series, I will still say the Sunday book is still by far the best.

Looking at the positives first, I will say I learned more about our elusive main character in this book than any of the others. It dragged a bit when she went back to her childhood home of Braxton and I think the story line could have been abbreviated.

I like how her friends gather to bring her nice meals, the support they show her, the wine, the mystery aspects of the story and the English setting.  Both London and the little rural town of Braxton.

My favorite supporting character is still Josef.  Hoping to see more of him in the next few books.  I felt very sorry for Frieda’s boyfriend and thought she was too cold with him.  Don’t want to reveal spoilers but I will be adding my thoughts on Goodreads where I can hide the spoilers.  I had it narrowed down to two characters as the main perpetrator but have to say I was actually surprised who the baddie turned out to be.

Side note on an unrelated documentary:   The musical group Thursday’s Children was focused on in the book, however, Thursday’s Children was also a documentary  about the Royal School for the Deaf in Margate, Kent.  It won an  Academy Award for the Best Documentary Short of 1954. The subject deals with hearing-handicapped children.  They learn what words are through exercises and games, practicing lip-reading and finally speech. Richard Burton was the narrator.

It doesn’t appear the name of the fictional band has any relation to the documentary.  There isn’t a mention or connection in the novel.