The Detective's Daughter, book review. (Lesley Thomson)

Crime, it isn't my preferred genre, but I managed to acquire this one for one pound on my Kindle, so gave it a go. 

It was in the most part, quite good, but this book does have its problems. 

Convincing the reader, that a grown man can live entirely undetected in a stranger's (host's) house, for weeks, sometimes months on end, was just too much. In fact, I almost gave up at that point, and with a few to many coincidences stretching the boundaries of belief, you might wonder why I kept going. 

The answer to that is in the strength of the writing. 
Talking of coincidences: The main character, Stella Darnell, happens to run a cleaning company, who cleans for a woman, who lived next door to the woman who was murdered in the early eighties, that her deceased father investigated, (when he was a detective in the Met police) but never solved, that Stella subsequently finds out he was still investigating, when he mysteriously dies.
Then we discover, that her latest employee, is the dead woman's son, and has an intolerance for the colour she has just chosen for her new uniforms, to the point where he vomits. 
Then, Stella starts to date her (spoiler alert) dentist, who turns out to be our murderer! 
Suffice to say, I won't be reading any more of this Lesley Thomson series, but based on her ability to set a scene, to create believable dialogue and plonk the reader smack bang in the middle of a very believable, cold and depressing London during a miserable winter, means that I will endeavour to read something else by the author. 

The finale was both creepy, fast paced and revealing in equal measure.

Her sense of place and description of the capital, had me thinking of another crime novel I read recently, (J.K.Rowling's, The Cuckoo's Calling), which I think, is praise indeed. 

Only three stars for this one then, but just enough for me to remember the name, Lesley Thomson.

Oh, and congratulation to Emily May, fellow blogger from 'The Book Geek', on the birth of her first child. I wait with baited breath, for her book review of 'The Hungry Caterpillar' 

The Remains of the Day, book review. (Kazuo Ishiguro)

Another gem, from a master storyteller.

England in the 1950's, told from the prospective of Stevens, an ageing butler from Darlington Hall.

Beautifully written and another of Ishiguro's books that has been made into a film.

I can't comment on the film, as I haven't seen it, but his skill in writing a novel in the late 1980's that depicts the 1950's so convincingly, is amazing. The sense of 'Old England' that he portrays, the stiff upper lip, the congenial mild mannered ladies and gentleman Stevens encounters whilst on his travels, are all so totally convincing for a middle England in the decade after the war, that it feels like you're really there.

Ishiguro uses both Historical and fictional characters in this novel, which adds to the sense of realism.

Having visited Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh whilst reading this book, I was able to see first hand what it is like, to live in a large, stately home, and enjoyed the book more for it. 
A lovely book, deliciously written by an author of many talents.
Four well deserved stars.

Inferno, book review. (Dan Brown)

If you've ever read one of Dan Brown's other Robert Langdon novels, The Da-Vinci Code, for example, which most of the world has, then you'll sort of know what to expect with this one.

The thing is they seem to be getting more and more elaborate, and clutching at more and more straws, yet draw a similar conclusion. 

Take Angels and Demons as an example. Mad man steals a lethal vial of anti-matter, which if the church don't pray hard enough and finish conclave, elect their new pope, the said madman, the whole of the Vatican along with the whole Catholic religion, will be destroyed.

The Da-Vinci Code: mad man decides to put an end to the holy grain, (which happens to be a human, not a chalice) by killing all those who might be descended from Christ (this has been going on for centuries apparently), but if Langdon can solve the unsolvable cryptext, which first he has to find, and then elicit the help of a Grail lover, who happens to have loads and loads of cash, all might end well. 

So, Inferno! Inferno is about a mad man, who has untold wealth, (ring any bells yet) who intends to change the world for ever, because he believes that humans will go extinct within the next one hundred years. Good plan, well, forget about the plan for a second, we're in Italy, Florence to be precise, where we get to experience the beauty of that ancient city, as our main character gets repeatedly shot at, escapes, shot at again, bundled on a plane, taken to Turkey, where more mysterious stuff happens, so all can end well, again.

Don't get me wrong, if you like fast paced action, you'll like this book. If you like expertly researched books, which make you feel like you're actually there, then again, you'll like this book. My problem is that all this running around by the same character is getting a bit long in the tooth now. 

So Inferno gets a well-deserved three stars; and I hope, I wish, that Dan Brown moves on from Robert Langdon now, and his next book is just as well researched, just as fast paced, but more believable. 

Inspiration for the day goes to all the men and women who are manning the phones, driving the ambulances and stick or sowing us back together this Christmas. I salute you.

Never let me go, book review. (Kazuo Ishiguro)

Very thought provoking.
This book is so much more than just a love story.
It is about the vulnerability of children, about how we treat our fellow man (or woman), and with the thousands or refugees fleeing the wars in the middle east at the moment, is quite poignant. Like our fellow man, escaping persecution and death, there is a constant undertone of negative inevitability in this book, it's as if it doesn't matter what happens to the characters, their fate is sealed.
The book is not long, almost a weekend read, but due to it's atmospheric eloquence, strong characters and a convincing sense of foreboding, it will stay with you for longer.
Hailsham school is a places I will never forget, and for many different reasons, mainly because I now know what went on their, before they closed it down!
As you may know, the book was made into a film, which was shot beautifully, with convincing performances from all the lead actors; and it was in fact the film that led me to the book in the first place, and I was not disappointed.
A solid four stars then, (four and a half if I could) and inspiration enough for me to acquire 'The Remains of the Day, by the same author.