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The Visible World

by: Mark Slouka

January 01, 2008
I found this book very hard going. Not one of my best reads. The story of a man who returns to his parents Czech homeland.Here he discovers the story of his Mothers true love during the war. Very sad and touching in places, and lots of references to the war. I only really enjoyed the last section of the book.

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Random Acts of Heroic Love

by: Danny Scheinmann

January 01, 2008
I finished Random Acts last weekend and it's one of those rare books that stays with you long after you've finished it. I still find it creeping into my thoughts. At first I was reading Leo's story as the predominant one but as Moritz's one took over I found myself absolutely addicted to it. I often check the amount of pages left in a book to estimate what might happen, but I read each one thoroughly wishing it not to end. Indeed the story in the book of the journey versus the destination was how I read it from then on. I absolutely adored it, and when I've got the emotional strength to read it again I definitely will, which is again rare for me to do. I would recommend this not just as a romantic novel but a life lessons one which I'd say almost ... Read More:

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The Welsh Girl

by: Peter Ho Davies

December 27, 2007
Be prepared for a slow read and you won't be disappointed. The prose is, at times, quite beautiful and Peter Ho Davies has a style all of his own. Through the novel he questions ideas regarding the way in which we view our loyalties and courage, as well as our identities. It also highlights the fact that war is a very masculine thing, during which the real nature of female nurturing comes to the forefront. The author is sometimes almost poetic when describing unremarkable actions; this is one passage I particularly liked : 'He starts to write. In the swaying candlelight the lines on the paper look like strips of bandages, and he has the strangest impression of his writing hand, unwinding them as it moves across the page, revealing the words beneath.' ... Read More:

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Then We Came to the End: a Novel: A Novel

by: Joshua Ferris

January 04, 2008
I don't want to give the wrong impression; this is not a thriller, but finishing it somehow left me breathless. On reflection, it's the way you're sucked into the world of characters: warts and all characters, with possibly more bad points than good; they become your companions, and leaving them brings on a feeling of being wrenched away. The skill of the author brings life to seemingly mundane events, and they end up interesting because you're intrigued just as much as the advertising agency emplotees you are reading about.
The pace is nimble and the style sublime; I don't want to say much else but read it and enjoy.

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Down River

by: John Hart

June 16, 2008
This is one of the those books that creates a world that you keep wanting to return to; you think about it during your working day and can't wait to get back into it.

It is not just the quality of the thriller that does this, but also the complex interplay of the characters and their relationships. There's always some new insight waiting for you every few pages.

Adam Chase makes an interesting hero. His anger and resentment keep surfacing and you understand how his impetuousness leads him into trouble, but comprehend why he does what he does.

The rest of his family is well-drawn, especially the step-brother Jamie and his sister Miriam. The character of Robin is slightly weaker, though not disappointingly so. She is a mature woman ... Read More:

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Grave Doubts

by: Elizabeth Corley

June 25, 2007
I was not gripped by this story. It is too long, the writing style is clumsy ("he looked like a stick insect with a fungus invading its face")and the plot relies too much on handy coincidences: finding a box of evidence in a loft; finding a key piece of information from a character who "just happened" to overhear the detective's conversation etc. etc. Also there are more flushes: "he flushed deeply" "a flush spread over her face" than a rain interval at Wimbolden. As with many British crime stories, it lacks pace and conciseness and rambles unconvincingly into quaint village life, while the policemen miss obvious clues and make unrealistic assumptions. The psychology is poor and it just fails to convince on any level really. If it had been half the length and heavily trimmed there ... Read More:

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The Resurrectionist

by: James Bradley

June 19, 2008
Like many others, I had high hopes for this book because of the setting. Unlike a lot of the other people on here, I actually can sympathise with Gabriel and his descent into addiction and truly dark antics, but I have to agree that the characterisation is atrocious - nobody has any sort of memorable qualities and you will constantly be wondering who is who. The ending in Australia seems tacked on, goes nowhere and is really confusing too.

In all, a waste of your precious time. Worth the one star only for the bit in the middle where Gabriel starts robbing graves - that's the only part where you sense something is actually going to happen and force the characters to act/react.

Buy 'The Minutes of the Lazarus Club' instead.

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A Perfect Revenge

by: Annabel Dilke

September 03, 2007
Following the glowing reviews given by other readers, I disregarded the unappealing packaging to this book and gave it a try. Unfortunately, despite an interesting premise, what could have been a gripping and enjoyable read, turned out to be mediocre and predictable. Any twists or turns in the plot were ruined by heavy foreshadowing. I would be unlikely to read another book by this author.

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Dark Angels

by: Grace Monroe

November 05, 2007
I'm on page 292 and struggling to move on. I keep on losing the thread of the story. It's written by two authors, and it shows. It just doesn't seem to flow and too often I seem to have to go back to see if I've missed something that will explain the bit I'm reading. It doesn't, though. The plot lurches around with some very strange and unbelievable characters. I'm a fan of crime fiction, but this really doesn't hold my interest. This really isn't the pick of the genre - try Billingham or Harrod Eagle's Bill Slider series, the Wallender series by Henkell Manning. Or anything else, in fact! (Now 5th October, still on p.292 and have given up altogether.)

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27 Bones

by: Jonathan Nasaw

January 03, 2005
Could not put this book down until I had finished it: gripping, believable and very scary - what more could you ask for from a book about a serial killer. Had to buy more!!!