Review: Siege by Simon Kernick [Jan]

A group of terrorists plot to take over a London hotel, using violence and bloodshed to control the hostages they have. Wolf is the leader of a group of fanatics and they have ensured the head of MI6 is one of the hostages.  The rest of the group are Fox’s men, and he has a slightly different agenda.  As bullets fly some guests hide while others try to escape.  The rest are rounded up and hope they live through the night.

Scope has just assassinated several people and is on his way out of the hotel when the hotel is taken hostage and he is trapped.  He comes across Abby and her son Ethan and rescues them from immediate death, then stays to protect them.  Elena is the newly engaged hotel manager, planning to move to Australia she was handing in her resignation that day.  Martin has terminal cancer and is planning to commit suicide in a hotel room that holds a special meaning for him.  When the bullets start to fly, he discovers he doesn’t want to die that day.  Michael, the MI6 man, know secrets people would kill for.  There’s an interesting subplot with the officer on the ground that’s in direct charge of the police forces response to this hostage situation.

The plot unfolds rapidly, with points of view of different characters giving a perfect view of what’s happening.  The story is told in short chapters, usually ending in cliff-hangers that are exciting and teasers to devour the book in one sitting!  The story has masterful suspense where you’re sitting on the edge of your seat waiting for the next thing to happen.

I loved the ending!  The good guys win, bad guys lose, and the dodgy hero’s motivations are revealed.  Brilliant.  Off to find other books by Simon Kernick.

Title: Siege
Author: Simon Kernick
Published: Bantam Press, 2012
Reviewer: Jan

Review: Inferno by Dan Brown [Jan]

Robert Langdon wakes up in a hospital bed in Italy, shot and no memory of how or why it happened.  All he can remember is a beautiful woman sitting in a painting depicting Dante’s Gates of Hell, urging him to seek and find something.  A spiky haired woman tries to assassinate him and he flees for his life with the assistance of an attractive young doctor.

Sienna Brooks is a doctor, used to saving lives and being in control.  She saved a patient’s life and is now being pursued through the streets of Rome by the police, military, mercenaries, and an assassin.  The former child actor has a genius IQ and uncertain immigration status that means she does not want to be noticed.

Fast-paced and with plenty of action, the plot is tightly written with intriguing clues dropped throughout that reveal a clever but horrific plan.  As pieces began slotting together small pieces of the puzzle began to emerge but certain events remained a mystery and I couldn’t understand them, like the head of the WHO and the man she met.  Was she working with him or thwarting him?   There were a few shocks as people’s secrets were revealed and all the pieces came together right at the very end to display.  I did not guess what was coming before it unfolded and I wondered how I missed it.

Set in the exotic streets of Florence, medieval Italian literature and artworks are explored, as Dante’s Inferno is key to the plan.  History and art buffs will either enjoy this story or pick holes in the authenticity of the story.  Fans of a cleverly written thriller will be delighted with this book.  I thought the plan was grotesque and so wrong, but worryingly I can see the sensible side of it.

Read this latest masterpiece from Dan Brown.  It’s a gripping read.

Title: Inferno
Author: Dan Brown
Published: Bantam Press, 2013
Reviewer: Jan

Review: Gun Machine by Warren Ellis

On playing back the 911 recording, it’d seem that Mrs. Stegman was more concerned that the man outside her apartment door was naked than that he had a big shotgun.

John Tallow’s partner has just been killed on the job as a police officer in New York City.  While examining the crime scene he discovers an apartment filled with hundreds of guns; on walls, on the floor, in every room.  Several guns are collected at random and test-fired, to reveal each gun had been used in an unsolved homicide in a 20 year span.  John is assigned the case and realises he will have to solve each shooting before he can find the killer.

Not a comic book fan I was a little dubious the author Warren Ellis would write a crime novel that would appeal to me.  I was totally wrong – this book is fantastic!  The opening sentence snagged my attention and never lost it.  The excellent storytelling tells a dramatic tale of the gritty world of policing and offers hope the good guys sometimes win.  The manipulations and reasons behind the murders are chilling once you figure it out.

The characters are so life like and interesting, with the CSU’s having so many quirks you’ve got to love them.  The killer is creepy, with the psychotic side of him becoming clearer as the story unfolds.  I saw the ending coming halfway through but on the journey there more sinister details emerged.

If you like psychological thrillers, read this book!

Title: Gun Machine
Author: Warren Ellis
Publisher: Mulholland Books, c2013
Reviewer: Jan

Review: Until You're Mine by Samantha Hayes

Claudia Morgan-Brown leads a privileged life in Edgbaston with her husband, James, and two stepsons.  Heavily pregnant, with a busy job and James at sea a lot, she needs help with the twins.  Their ad for a live in nanny is answered by Zoe, who has impeccable references and seems ideal.  Zoe has a secret though, and a deep desire for a baby of her own.

Lorraine Fisher is a Detective Sergeant currently hunting a killer who targets heavily pregnant women and cuts the baby from them.  She’s working with her husband Adam, another cop.  Their marriage is shaky and the gruesome crimes aren’t helping to restore it.

This is very well plotted and the characters come to life.  As the story unfolds you see how everything is interconnected and it s very clever.  There’s a real twist in the ending of this gripping thriller.  I was expecting one story and got another, better one.  I love being surprised at the ending as I did not expect how the story wound up.  The last line was chilling and I urge people to read it.  If you enjoy physiological thrillers and authors such as Tess Gerritson, Jilliane Hoffman, and Karin Slaughter, you’ll love this book.

Title: Until You're Mine
Author: Samantha Hayes
Publisher: Century, 2013
Reviewer: Jan

A cadaver a day keeps the boredom away

So you're getting another list of crime and suspense novels to read. Does this, in fact, suggest I may be going away on holiday and looking for an easy topic? Or simply that I like crime and felt it was time for another one?

It's a mystery...

Sorry to those of you who don't read the genre, but as Death himself likes to say: "THERE'S NO JUSTICE, THERE'S JUST ME." Thanks, Terry Pratchett.

Not My Blood - Barbara Cleverly

Scotland Yard Detective Joe Sandilands is caught off guard one night in 1933 by a phone call from a distressed boy named Jackie Drummond, who just might be the illegitimate son Joe never knew he had. Jackie is in trouble at his Sussex boarding school, where a teacher has been murdered. When Joe gets himself assigned to the investigation, he learns the boarding school case is more complicated than it appears: a frightening number of boys, all from wealthy families, have gone missing over the school's history, and by some coincidence none of the families have followed up on their sons' whereabouts.

Goddess of Death - Roy Lewis
Bored by his desk job in Northumberland, Arnold Landon welcomes the opportunity to join a group of criminal-hunters who specialise in tracing artefacts and looted antiques. Led by the formidable Carmela Cacciatore, Landon sets off on the trail of an ancient bronze statuette of Artemis the Huntress, part of a hoard looted first by the Nazis and then by Stalin's trophy brigade. As Arnold and Carmela dig deeper they are faced with the murder of an informant and as further killings pile up their efforts are frustrated. As they uncover a history of greed, corruption, murder and betrayal the long arm of revenge reaches out to kill once again.

Veronica Britton - Niall Boyce

As a fan of the late Diana Wynne Jones, this appeals to me. A Victorian private detective, Veronica Britton specialises in tricky situations that occur in time as well as space. Time travel is controlled by the Ministry, but they have now taken a sudden interest in Veronica. She uncovers a series of mysteries that all seem strangely interconnected. Steampunk and Doctor Who fans may well enjoy.

Invisible Murder - Joyce Cato
One for cosy fans. When travelling cook Jenny Starling starts her new job for the aristocracy living in a genuine castle, she is thrilled. She envisions nothing more arduous than days spent preparing her beloved recipes. But when a member of staff is murdered, it seems the reluctant sleuth must once again turn her energies towards helping the police.

Rollover - James Raven
It's a rollover week on the National Lottery and the jackpot is a whopping £18 million. Journalist Vince Mayo has picked all six numbers, but before he can celebrate his spectacular win he's battered to death at his home. In a hellish chain of events, Mayo's friend and fellow journalist, Danny Cain, is forced to go on the run when the police suspect him of the murder. With Danny Cain still alive, and knowing the truth, the ticket can't be cashed and the killers want their money, no matter what it takes. For Danny and his terrified family the odds of survival are stacked against them.

Shadows of Doubt - Evan G. Andrew

A Regency mystery by a New Zealand author, second in a series which follows the fortunes of Julia Farraday. Following the death of her great uncle, Julia receives an invitation to attend a house-party at Sharnborough, ancestral home of her friend Philip Stratton. There she meets a pair of charming people with French connections. Julia gets caught up in a world of conspiracy and intrigue, while her heart becomes caught shadows of doubt, between the safe and familiar, and the dangers of the unknown.

The Beautiful Mystery - Louise Penny
When the renowned choir director of a secretive monastery is murdered, the monks are forced to admit the first outsiders to their cloister - Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir of the Surete du Quebec. They soon discover disquiet beneath the silence, discord in the apparent harmony. As the peace of the monastery crumbles, Gamache is forced to confront some of his own demons, as well as those roaming the remote corridors. Before finding the killer, before restoring peace, the Chief must first consider the divine, the human, and the cracks in between.

The Two - Will Carver

Five lie dead, brutally murdered - the first taken on the night of Halloween. As autumn bleeds into winter, more ritualistic murders are discovered. Detective January David must battle his demons, for in his mind lies the clue to stopping a ruthless murderer. But his worst nightmares have literally come true when he discovers there's not one but two twisted killers on the loose...

Dark Passage - Frances Burke
After a devastating fall from high society into dire poverty, Nicola Redmond battles to support her mother and herself during the 1890s Depression in Australia. Spurning the 'charity' of the man who has claimed her father's estate, Nicola joins the battle for the empowerment of the women slaving in factories under dreadful conditions, or forced by starvation to sell themselves on the streets. When her dearest friend, Rose Basevi, meets a degrading death in a back alley, Nicola vows to avenge her. Denying her growing love for a man she cannot trust, she uses him and his two rivals: a charismatic union organizer, and a cool English detective in charge of the murder investigation. Setting herself up as bait, she plunges deep into the underbelly of the city knowing that one of these three men is stalking her - that one of them is a heartless killer...

Hemlock - Kathleen Peacock

One for teen fiction aficionados...Mackenzie and Amy were best friends. Until Amy was brutally murdered. Since then, Mac is being haunted by Amy in her dreams, and an extremist group called the Trackers has come to Hemlock to hunt down the killer: a white werewolf. Lupine Syndrome - the werewolf virus - is on the rise across the country. Many of the infected try to hide their symptoms, but bloodlust is not easy to control and the Trackers are determined to stop them at any cost. Unwilling to work with the brutal Trackers, but desperately wanting to put an end to her nightmares, Mac decides to investigate Amy's murder herself. But the deeper she delves into the mystery behind Amy's death, the more secrets she discovers lurking in the shadows of Hemlock.

Seventy Times Seven - John Gordon Sinclair

Since his brother's murder, Danny McGuire has been a professional killer, bent on retribution. He's been contracted to eliminate the Thevshi, the most elusive informant that has ever penetrated the Republicans in Northern Ireland. But there's a problem: the Thevshi claims to know who's responsible for his brother's death.