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Reviews and Articles listed A-Z by author >> ReviewsRoadside Crosses Jeffery Deaver "It's easy to buy a cheap computer and a website and some blog software and in five minutes you've got a venue for your personal opinions—a venue that will be seen by millions of people around the world." That's the threat at the heart of Deaver's second Kathryn Dance thriller In The Independent, Barry Forshaw looks at evidence of a high-risk trend in British crime writing: perhaps aware that readers are wearying of burnt-out, alcoholic or damaged detectives, writers such as Laura Wilson have made their heroes relatively untroubled: family men, non-addictive personalities, not at loggerheads with superiors. This more quotidian copper also sports fewer tics (possibly remembering Agatha Christie, who regretted saddling Poirot with eccentric habits).
Gary Lovisi has long been one of the key authorities on the gloriously lurid art of pulp paperbacks, with their parade of alluring half-dressed temptresses/murderesses/victims, and this handsomely illustrated volume is perhaps his most entertaining contribution to the burgeoning field of reprints of such material Some Rain Must Fall Michel Faber It's fair to say that the author of this fascinating collection of short stories has had an equally fascinating life - Michel Faber was born in the Netherlands, grew up in Australia and now has his home in the Scottish Highlands. He has been, variously, a nurse, a pickle-packer and a guinea pig for medical research. These fifteen stories reflect his unconventional background, clearly showing he's a writer who enjoys playing with words and dipping in and out of genres as the mood takes him The literary crime novel is a hard nut to crack. But I'm pleased to say that newcomer Anne-Sophie Brasme's debut, Breathe, manages to satisfy both camps - the literary intelligentsia who think 'plot' is a dirty word, and the ordinary Joe Punter who just wants a page-turner of a story Angel With Two Faces Nicola Upson In the world of cosies it's surprising how uncosy life can be. Nicola Upson won't thank me for calling this a cosy but it's a Cornish mystery, set in 1935, in which family secrets are unearthed by a Scotland Yard inspector returned on holiday Camilleri's Sicilian copper Salvo Montalbano is now a familiar figure: a laser-sharp mind, and a gourmet whose mind constantly strays to food. We know his stamping-ground: the beautiful, sleepy territory of Vigata, languishing in the heat. In August Heat, it is omnipresent and crushing. Barry Forshaw in The Independent Don't Look Back is a 'high concept' novel: serial killer called 'Goya' leaves his first victim in the Rose Bowl. Goya is avenging abuse by Catholic priests, and those who covered up that abuse, and he's leaving pictures and clues based on paintings, and, best of all, the Pope himself is coming to LA, and guess at which 100,000 seat stadium he's going to make his personal appearance? That's high concept! Ice Cold Andrea Maria Schenkel MUNICH in the Thirties is a dangerous place for a young woman, particularly for those who cycle the secluded country lanes on the outskirts of the city. A savage attacker is at work, killing his victims after raping them. Barry Forshaw in The Express on the new Andrea Maria Schenkel Sex makes problems for everyone, except Parker, who's a master of double-entendre dialogue, but not all his characters come equipped, like Jesse, with a drink, a shrink, and quip that makes you think...
You'll be drawn into a world that is part James Bond, part Dragon's Den, in which deals are done over lunches that won't leave change from a grand and the reputation of a brand name is worth risking a life for. Preferably someone else's. Punchy, exciting, and skilfully plotted, Nectar of the Gods looks like being the first in an excellent new series. Suffer The Children Adam Creed Pungent, edgy, visceral and told from beginning to end in an unchanging present tense, Suffer the Children is as good a snapshot of the state of the modern British crime novel (urban category) as you're likely to encounter. Barry Forshaw in The Independnet on the new Adam Creed I first came across Benjamin Appel in David Madden's Tough Guy Writers of the Thirties, in which he contributed "Labels," a perceptive essay in which Appel talks about tough guy and proletariat writing, maintaining that the best tough guy novels have endured because for such writers the genre was never a device or artifice, but constituted genuine reflections of the world, and that "tough" was merely a convenient term Although on the surface there are no concrete links to suggest that Pelecanos is in the process of building another series, I find it very easy to approach The Way Home, his excellent new novel, as very much part of a continuity with his previous two books, The Night Gardener and Turnaround... Woman With Birthmark Håkan Nesser Colin Dexter has said that Håkan Nesser's Swedish copper, Inspector Van Veeteren, seems "destined for a place among the great European detectives"... Barry Forshaw in The Independent on the new Nesser The Definitive Hitchcock Blonde: Grace Kelly The Life of Hitchcock's favourite blonde: Barry Forshaw in The Times on High Society: Grace Kelly and Hollywood by Donald Spoto Woman With Birthmark Hakan Nesser This reminds me of Per Wahloo's solo novels, like The Generals or The Lorry, whose settings were almost identifiable as a country, but with slight differences which drove home the point that this was not so far from home after all. I have the feeling that is the point Nesser is driving home in Woman With Birthmark, and, in the end, he drives it home powerfully. David's Revenge By Hans Werner Kettenbach This is an odd, at times frustrating, at times creepy little thriller that, along the way, tells you more than you expected about racial politics in modern Germany. The Captain's Table Brian Thompson 'It's likely that enthusiastic encomiums will be lavished on The Captain's Table - as it deserves.' Eve Tan Gee on a June historical crime novel of real distinction, The Captain's Table by Brian Thompson A dreamlike narrative... so it is therefore fitting and appropriate that Rage is soon to be a film by Guillermo del Toro, the director of Pan's Labyrinth. Stylish, original and disturbing, this tense erotic thriller will leave you wondering whether you closed the bathroom window after all... The Secret Speech Tom Rob Smith To say that Tom Rob Smith's debut novel, Child 44, caused something of a sensation in the crime-thriller field would be to understate the case... Barry Forshaw in The Independent on a much-anticipated sequel The Scarecrow Michael Connelly McAvoy is an appealing character, more the optimist than Harry Bosch; his outward cynicism is a journalist's shield. His first-person narration is convincing, it is the voice of a journalist writing a true-crime book. It's impressive that Connelly can switch gears so fluidly; The Scarecrow shows that there's very little in the genre that's beyond his talents. What rivets the reader is the way Harvey is concerned with issues of parenthood and loss, the different ways we cope with loss, the different impacts it has on our lives. This is part of his fine descriptive eye, with his interest in the quotidian. The Vanishing Of Katharina Linden Helen Grant Barry Forshaw in The Independent on a tale of disappearing youth This novel is the first in a projected series about Paul Dark, an MI6 agent in the era of James Bond. Though the publicity material promised a cross between 'the deadly skills' of Jason Bourne and the 'killer charm' of Bond, the reality is somewhat different, both more and less interesting than those models as a result Next 25 |
