I read Daniel Cole’s debut novel Ragdoll about a year ago. I enjoyed it and liked the lead character, Detective William Falkes (Wolf). I remembered little about his offsider Detective Emily Baxter, which was unfortunate as this book – although labelled Falkes #2 – predominantly features Baxter and the former probationer we met in the first outing (Alex Edmunds) as well as a few new faces.
Flawed leads are becoming increasingly common in fiction. I know some readers still struggle to read books featuring main characters who are less-than-likeable. The occasional quirk is usually okay, or even some arrogance or a tinge of psychopathy but it’s still often harder for many to engage and identify with a character who we might not like.
Bethany Reston might be such a character for some because she tells us outright that she’s having an affair. Indeed it’s on the backcover blurb. So we know that from the start.
In 2003, just over two years after his heart transplant my father caught a bus from his regional hometown to Brisbane for some tests with a neurologist. I picked him up and took him to the hospital, waited while he was in with the specialist and then took him back to the bus.
I’m not sure what happened while he was in being ‘tested’ but he came out devastated. Deflated. He talked about some of the memory tests he’d been given and couldn’t believe he’d struggled with them. Interestingly it was years before his official diagnosis of vascular dementia but perhaps we were fortunate it took a while to invade his mind and his memories.
Eighty-year old Robbie Brandon, the lead character of Julie Cohen’s Together, seems to have suffered a far quicker decline. But it takes us the whole book to understand why its full impact would be even more devastating for him, his beloved Emily and their family.
The Liar by Steve Cavanagh is the THIRD excellent legal thriller I’ve read in the last few months. In my reviews of both A Criminal Defense by William L Myers Jnr and Say Nothing by Brad Parks, I commented on the fact it’d been a while since I’d read any courtroom dramas / legal procedurals, but I’ve certainly been getting my fix recently and it’s reminded me how much I loved early work by Scott Turow and Steve Martini.
Fans of Linwood Barclay may remember his recent trilogy, set in Promise Falls. I loved the first instalment (Broken Promise) struggled just a little with the second (Far From True), but enjoyed the third (The Twenty-Three) more.
It did however, end with a cliffhanger. My mother later read it… “It can’t end there!” she wailed. Okay, so she may not have wailed…. that just sounded better. 🙂 #alternativefacts
Well, the trilogy* did end. Officially. Until this – featuring some of the characters we came to know and love – was released… in some circles as a standalone, but also billed as Promise Falls #4!
I made certain assumptions as I read this book. Assumptions which – now I’ve had time to ponder them and actually check – don’t seem to be the case.
When we meet homicide detective Gavin Cain, for example, he’s concerned about his girlfriend Lucy, who he met in a previous case, and he’s assisted by a computer specialist he met during that case. We eventually learn it involved a school shooting and Lucy was a key witness… something that’s (understandably) impacted her psychological health. I was intrigued. “I’ll have to read the previous book in the series,” I thought.
And yet… when I later sought information, it seems Moore’s previous book The Poison Artist doesn’t seem to have involved Cain. At all. Hashtag: am confused.
Last year I read and reviewed Saul’s Black The Killing Lessons. It was kinda creepy and somewhat violent but I enjoyed it and was keen to read more from the UK author (aka Glen Duncan).
I’ve heard of Anthony Horowitz but not read any of his previous novels. In my little world, Hororwitz is equally known for his work in television, having created Foyle’s War and the never-ending long-lasting Midsomer Murders. And then there’s his newer work, New Blood, recently on ABC TV here in Australia (and enjoyed by my mum).
Interestingly he authored the James Bond novel, Trigger Mortis, but if I had my way, Horowitz would be been responsible for the revitalisation of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot. Horowitz worked on the TV show and, though Sophie Hannah is certainly talented, I think the screenwriter (and obvious Christie-fan) has her style down pat.
I have to admit I’m a bit nervous about reviewing this book as I’m worried I’ll offend people. I like to think I’m fairly diplomatic, but my political correctness only goes so far.
It’s not that I didn’t like this book, which is about the family of a profoundly autistic boy, because I did. It’s just that the content is kinda confronting – in a thought-provoking, sad and heartwarming way.
Follow me!