A Crown of Lights by Phil Rickman

Merrily Watkins is the diocesan exorcist for Hereford and is the one they call in when things seem a little out of the ordinary. That is, she gets called in any time anything seems spooky or inexplicable. In the beginning, Merrily was unsure if she had found the right place for her within the hierarchy of the church. In the meantime, she still has her doubts, but has become much surer of herself and is less inclined to doubt her instincts. In a Crown of Lights, after Merrily answers a call to look in on an older gentleman who is taking the care of his dead wife’s body to extremes she becomes embroiled in the feud between the growing pagan movement, the church and an odd Christian sect which seems to have sprung out of nowhere. As events unfold and Merrily, with the help of her teenage daughter Jane, finds out more and more about the background of those involved, the pieces start to come together to form a rather unsavoury picture on all sides and she begins to wonder if she’ll be able to extract herself from the situation with life, limb and reputation intact.

This is the third book in the Merrily Watkins series and I quite liked it. Rickman manages to give the books and his characters a touch of the supernatural without going overboard. He’s left the series realistic by creating situations that are just a little bit off, thereby not requiring the reader to decide if he actually believes in the supernatural or not. You could choose to see the events in that light if you wanted to, but you can just right it all off as one of those things men create to spook themselves. Even if you choose not to put too much faith in the otherworldly, the books remain entertaining. Merrily is a down to earth, realistic woman who brooks no nonsense and only half believes in the whole business herself. She certainly believes in evil and the power of evil, but she’s not the type to go in for an all out supernatural frenzy. She’s belief without fanaticism, which is probably much more appealing to the average reader than if she were to go to one extreme or the other.

Jane’s daughter also adds a good layer to the book as Jane is more inclined to believe in all things mystical than her mother is. As a teenager with alternative beliefs, Jane often goads her mother into thinking about things more than she might do otherwise. She also incites her to act where Merrily wouldn’t. So while much of their relationship is pretty much the same as between any teenage daughter and her mother, Jane keeps the story moving along. She provides normalcy with a kick.

All in all, the books are entertaining without actually entering into the “Twilight” Zone (pun intended because I just couldn’t help myself). A Crown of Lights still holds as much interest as the first two novels while developing the characters at the same time. 4.5/5.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

This is another one of those books we’ve all heard of but few people have actually read. As a result, people often have the impression they know what the book is about, but don’t actually because much of the story has been dramatized and Hollywoodized over the years. I don’t actually mean that as a criticism even if it does sound like one. It’s brilliant that people can take an idea and expound on it to create other stories and I wouldn’t want to give up our Mr. Hyde of today, or our green Frankenstein, or our Coca-Cola Santa Claus. It’s just that often the successors wind up overshadowing the original to the point where it almost disappears except to the few who choose to look at the origins. Granted, there still are a lot of people out there who have read the originals, but the average person hasn’t.

Dr. Henry Jekyll has gone a bit soft in the head. He shuns visitors, changes his will in an odd manner leaving all to Mr. Hyde should he die or disappear, and his friends are becoming increasingly worried. Most of all they are concerned about his connections with the man Mr. Hyde who is seen running down a small girl in the street. Mr. Hyde gives a check signed in Jekyll’s name to the father in the way of compensation, but doesn’t show much remorse. Jekyll swears afterward that he is finished with Hyde, but when Jekyll’s friends find his cane at Hyde’s house, they know he’s still under Hyde’s influence and soon they find out that the truth is even more horrible than they had imagined.

It won’t be giving anything away to mention that Jekyll and Hyde are one in the same. Hyde is the creator of a potion which changes him into a being free from moral subjugation and Jekyll revels in the freedom this gives him at first. However, like most addictive substances, it soon takes over his life and his free choice is removed so that he is subjugated to the beast he has created. Here’s where “fact” and fiction separate though. Hyde is often portrayed as a larger than life figure with great strength and power. However, in the book, Jekyll is the larger of the two men and Hyde much the smaller, more crude looking figure with no particular powers except his lack of morals which allows him to do things forbidden to most humans. Stevenson also doesn’t present the case from Jekyll/Hyde’s point of view, instead choosing to tell the tale through the rather clinical and Victorian observation of his friends. This lends the book a bit of a dry air as opposed to making it a thriller. Thus, Stevenson wasn’t actually trying to create a monster for our Halloween pleasure, he was presenting us with the dichotomy of man vs. the monster within himself, or what we would be without voluntary moral or ethical subjugation.

I think he also, perhaps unknowingly addresses the subject of addiction and its ends. As mentioned, the potion becomes the master of the man until the effect is no longer the one desired, and instead reflects the essence of the potion which is evil. Many drugs have the same effect of being pleasurable in the beginning, but soon grow to control the user instead of the user controlling the drug. Finally, he also, rather obviously, addresses split personalities and mental illness. Jekyll and Hyde being one and the same makes that pretty much a given. Although, to his credit, Stevenson doesn’t make the split black and white, as Jekyll tells his friends, while Hyde was wholly amoral, this did not make Jekyll his diametric opposite and render him wholly good. Jekyll remained much as he was while Hyde only embodied the evil in him. Thus, it was less of a split than a personality graft, like cutting off one pit of a plant so that it grows into its own plant, only this particular bit only contained certain parts of the makeup of its parent plant. In essence, this is a more accurate reflection of mental illness as it is seldom comprised of a simple black and white split.

I could babble on about this forever because it is a terribly interesting book which opens up a lot of room for discussion. Yes, it is a bit on the dry side as a read, especially if you’re expecting fast paced action, but the subject matter makes up for that in leaps and bounds. It’s one I can recommend to anyone, so it’s another 5/5 book.

Requiem Mass by Elizabeth Corley

Five girls went out onto the cliffs during a school outing, only four returned. One of the girls fell off the cliff in a horrible accident which went unwitnessed by her friends. Her loss was tragic but life went on and the girls’ lives continued as planned. Twenty years later and one of the girls, now a wife and a mother, disappears after leaving for a day trip. Her husband is shocked and upset but knows his wife would never leave the children. Unfortunately, the police don’t believe him and her disappearance is only a blip in their records, and only then because the husband lodged a complaint. Had it not been for DCI Fenwick, no one would have ever looked at the case again, but Fenwick feels there are just too many warning bells about the case and can’t leave it alone. Then another crime is committed which may be connected and Fenwick sets off down the path which will lead him to investigating the girl’s death 20 years ago while trying to prevent even more murder.

I can’t even remember where I came across this book, but I’m glad I did. Corley creates some interesting characters from remarkable perspectives and presents her detective with several moral dilemmas which make the reader stop and think about justice in its entirety. What is justice and can it be wrong to pursue it in every case and at all costs? She also created a rather incongruous detective. Many of the protagonists in modern crime novels are young and single with no children or have a drink problem etc. etc. Fenwick is a family man who cares deeply about his children and his own effect on their lives. As such, Corley adds an element of reality by introducing a man who, like the rest of us, has to juggle his career and desire to rise in the ranks with his life without dropping the ball on either. I suppose the potential for the dysfunctionalism which is so prevalent in today’s society and modern literature, but it’s refreshing to find a character who is fighting it and hasn’t just given in and accepted that he must sacrifice his family to his career. Not that Fenwick doesn’t have his problems, but they don’t take pride of place in his life as they so often seem to nowadays.

Interesting plot, engaging characters, enough tension to keep it interesting and a depth which is often lacking in crime novels. 5/5

Skullduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire by Derek Landy

Valkyrie Cain has taken a liking to her dead uncle’s friend Skullduggery Pleasant and is now something of an apprentice in his detective agency. Only it’s a bit special this agency. For one, Skullduggery is a skeleton, for another his clients and cases are seldom normal. They mostly belong to the parallel world where vampires and demons really do exist and are usually trying to escape or find something that isn’t really walking on the right side of the law. Valkyrie vastly prefers this life to the dull, boring one she grew up in and cleverly ditches school on a daily basis to learn much more interesting and useful things like how to kill a vampire and use elemental magic.

When Baron Vengeous escapes from his jail cell somewhere deep in the heart of Russia, Skullduggery knows that problems are bound to appear soon. Vengeous wants to continue his quest to return the Faceless Ones to power (anyone called Faceless has just got to be evil, haven’t they?). With the help of Dusk the Vampire, the assassin Billy-Ray Sanguine and various other unsavoury characters, he intends to reanimate his grotesquery as a first step. Skullduggery knows he must stop this before it goes to far to stop it and so he and Valkyrie set out to save the world, again.

I love Skullduggery. Yes, it’s a children’s book, yes, it’s a bit silly, but it’s fun. I especially love the really dry humour that keeps it from taking itself too seriously. Right up my ally. It’s also not always easy to discern where the plot will take you, so it’s a bit of a roller coaster ride and never gets boring. Again, it’s an easy, enjoyable read, perfect for Sunday afternoons when you don’t want to think too much. It’s not going to win a Nobel prize any time soon, but I don’t care. I loved it. 5/5 for sheer fun.

Nation by Terry Pratchett

I may have mentioned a few times before that I adore Terry Pratchett. Just maybe. Well, I do. With the exception of the Bromeliad Trilogy, I’ve loved everything I’ve ever read by him. Some books more and some less, but they are consistently good and always entertaining. The Bromeliad Trilogy are children’s stories and knowing that Nation is essentially a children’s book made me wonder if I’d like it, but it’s Pratchett, so the risk is low and of course I wanted to try it. My opinion in general? It was worth the read. It’s not one that will list very high on my favourite read list, but it’s still a good book. It’s also another one of those so chock full of sly comments that you could read it ten time and still not have cottoned on to all the remarks. It’s one children will go back and read in ten years time and think, wow, I missed all of that the first time around! As such, it’s not strictly a child’s book and I can recommend it to anyone who has a sense of humour. It helps if you know a little bit about Polynesian and Victorian culture as well, but it’s not absolutely necessary.

Mau is set to become a man. He goes off to the little island alone, finishes his tasks and is already tasting the BBQed fish and hearing the congratulations that will welcome him when he arrives back home. Then the wave hits and wipes out Mau’s world as if the Gods wanted a gigantic do-over. At a total loss, Mau carries on as best he can alone, that is until he meets the shipwrecked Ermintrude, oh, sorry, Daphne. Daphne is the diametric opposite of Mau. She is the product of an English Victorian aristocratic family (her father is 138th in line for the throne; her grandmother is plotting 138 ways of death). She considers being barefoot just short of nudity, eating with your hands is just not done and talking to strangers without a written letter of introduction is a brazen act of wantonness. Consequently, neither understands the other. Fortunately, Ermin…Daphne is intelligent enough to realize that when needs must, convention has just got to pick up and go on an extended vacation and the two rapidly, as children tend to do, begin to understand each other and get on with the business of living and integrating the other stragglers into their Nation.

Nation is a very eclectic book. It tackles any theme that gets in its way and a few that don’t. The obvious ones are coming of age, the excesses of Victorianism, religion, idolatry and belief, but Pratchett really takes on anything that happens to come up. To say much more would be giving too much away, so if you’re interested, I recommend you read the book. It’s a quick and pleasant read but offers a lot to think and to laugh about. 5/5

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

If I were a more outgoing person, I might start this post with something like “Avast ye hardies!” or Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Rum! But I’m not, so a quiet dram of rum and the dog wanting a cracker will just have to suffice.

Treasure Island is a book I had been beginning to think never existed. Growing up, we heard about all the Pirates like Long John Silver, Bluebeard etc. but never really knew where they came from. I personally never ran across any pirate stories and I doubt my brother did either or I would have known about it. Anyway, I was beginning to think it was all just random bits of history when I finally found Treasure Island. I can’t for the life of me figure out why no one ever thought to give us this book to read. It’s a brilliant story. This is the stuff little boy’s pirate dreams are made of. Ships, mutiny, maps, buried treasure and gold doubloons, they’re all in there.

Jim Hawkins is a young boy living with his family on the south west coast of England. His parents run an inn there and one day an old seaman, Billy Bones, shows up seeking refuge. He’s a very mysterious character and it quickly becomes apparent that he has something to hide. He even goes so far as to pay Jim to keep his eyes peeled for a sailor with one peg leg. All goes fairly well for a while when suddenly Billy Bones starts receiving visits from fellow sailors who he’s not overly pleased to see. One of them agitates him so much that he has a stroke and must be cared for by Jim. While Jim is nursing Billy, Billy lets slip that he has a map which leads to a mass of buried treasure and that’s what the others are after. Not long afterwards, Billy dies, Jim snatches the map out from under the other seamen’s noses and sets off with the village doctor and squire to find the buried treasure.

It’s an old story, but I won’t give away any more just in case there are people out there like me who manage to spend half their lives avoiding this book like me. As mentioned, I loved it. It’s full of adventure and danger and is just really fun. One surprising feature is that Long John Silver is never really quite as bad as you expect him to be. I always assumed that such a character would be portrayed in the blackest of lights, but he’s actually quite congenial and takes a genuine liking to Jim. In retrospect, the man is a masterpiece because he can wear more than one face as it pleases him. Although this doesn’t actually fit in to the stereotype of a Pirate aux Pirates of the Caribbean, it creates an even greater aura of evil about him as you’re never quite sure which side of himself he’s going to show. In this sense, he translates well into modernity where it’s long since been expected that really brilliant criminals aren’t laden with the neon “I’m the Villain” sign, but are multi-faceted and can adapt themselves to their environment.

The story also belongs to an era where right and wrong, good and evil are clearly marked (with the aforementioned exception of Silver) and as such provides a good role model for children whose world really is still pretty much black and white. While I’m not always for dumbing down things for children, I’m of the school of thought where avoiding confusion in role models for young children is a good thing. They’ll grow up and realize the world is more complex soon enough. If we had more of these types of stories, kids might be a little less confused nowadays. Now I think I’ll just stop before I begin to sound too much like my grandmother. Brilliant book, a good read for all ages: 5/5

Who Guards a Prince by Reginald Hill

Royalty is always a target and Doug McHarg spent many years of his life protecting the prince’s life. Only when he own wife falls so ill she can no longer spare him does he leave the job to protect her and becomes a policeman. His wife’s death creates a rift between him and his daughter which leaves him virtually alone in the world. Then one day, a tongue is found buried on the beach. It looks human, but when the results come back that it was a dog’s tongue, McHarg smells a rat and, terrier like, refuses to let it go. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, The Connelly Family has problems of their own. The clan’s leader Dada has found out that Dree is having a relationship with the English prince and cannot stomach what he deems betrayal to their Irish roots. He makes the entire family’s stake in the will dependant on her behaviour, leaving Dree in an impossible situation. What no one realizes is that there is a plot against them all which may take down some of the most prominent people in the world unless McHarg can figure it all out in time.

This one started off a bit on the slow side, or maybe that’s just my take on it. I hadn’t realized there would be an Irish/IRA side to the book and was worried that the story would go down the same old roads with the same old problems. It does to a certain extent, but it also goes much further as Hill pulls the Masons into the whole scheme, which adds an element of interest. The whole plot quickly becomes quite involved with unknown and uncertain alliances taking place as several groups strive to gain or retain control. McHarg is unknowingly stuck in the middle of it all and may possibly be the only one who could figure the whole thing out as the shadowy figures start to take shape. It turned out to be quite a good read in the end. By the last half of the book I was riveted. I also think this one is going to be a good re-read someday. Kind of like the movie Sixth Sense where the connections all come together when you watch it for the second time. Warranting a re-read is always a sign of a good book.

4.5/5

Deadly Intent by Lynda La Plante

Deadly Intent is the first in the Anna Travis/James Langton Series by Lynda La Plante. I reviewed the second of the novels in June. Having bought the book in a sale, I didn’t realize it belonged to a series, and even thought it was a good stand-alone read, I liked it well enough to go back and read the first and will continue to read the rest of the series.

DC Anna Travis is a young, green detective who is following in her famed father’s footsteps as a police detective. She gets her break when another of the DCs is taken ill and James Langton needs someone to step in. He takes on Travis more out of curiosity than anything else; with the hope she will prove to be her father’s daughter. He isn’t disappointed. Travis quickly becomes fully embroiled in a serial murder case where the victims have hitherto been older prostitutes but are becoming younger. With the death of a teenage girl, things begin to heat up very quickly indeed. Anna swiftly proves her worth as a team member with her dogged determination to be of use to the team and her quick mind which picks up on details and avenues others have missed. Unfortunately for her, she is a little too good and winds up playing roles even the most experienced police officers would find difficult.

Again, this is just a really good read if you like detective/crime novels. The characters are brilliant and I found myself often trying to give them advice of the, “no don’t open that door!” type because I actually cared what happened to them. La Plante has finally created a female heroine who is insecure, but doesn’t let those insecurities encroach upon her life. She gets on with things and as such is a good role model. I find a lot of female characters who have to have strength do when they need to, but only when they need to. The rest of the time they lean on others for support. Travis avoids this by using her own strength without making it an issue that gets in the way of her life. She seems balanced and well rounded as a person, which is just such a nice change.

The story itself is well written and contains enough suspense to make it interesting without losing plausibility. It’s also creepy without dipping into Horror, i.e. simply reading it will not give you nightmares. All in all, a really good book.

5/5

Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer

Mary’s family dies in an outbreak of disease and she is forced onto the streets of London and must live as an urchin. She does so for a while under the protection of a gang, but when that gang’s leader dies, she sets off on her own. She soon realizes that her chances as a boy are much better because at least she’d be able to find work. So she changes her appearance and her name (to Jack) and sets off as a ship’s boy on the Royal Navy ship, the HMS Dolphin. Even though the work is hard, it’s still an improvement on her previous life and she is content for the time being. She always knows that she will be discovered at some point, thus her time is limited and she sets out to make the most of it, engaging in all the adventure she can while she can.

I got this book from the ABC Sync site during their free summer download program. All of the books are YA and are designed to get young readers interested in books, reading and listening so there’s something for all age ranges. I think this particular book would be more suited to younger audiences, despite the references to swearing and carousing (she was on a ship in the early 1800’s so it was appropriate and only referred to, not spelled out, so to speak). The story is one that would appeal to young girls. Even though I like YA books, this one didn’t really do much for me. It was too unrealistic and fanciful for my personal taste. However, I was able to listen to the entire book and be mildly entertained, so it’s still a good book, somehow I just don’t think it’s one that would be universally appealing.

3.5/5

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley

Viktor Frankenstein is a wealthy Swiss scholar who becomes obsessed with science and chemistry. He takes his studies in his own direction and eventually comes upon a method of giving life to inanimate objects. Although he knows that the creation of life in a laboratory is morally reprehensible, as a scientist, his drive to discover if his theories work and can be expanded upon pressures him into doing just that. He creates his own monster made from bits of the human body he has collected from various places. Upon finishing his creation, he is appalled by what he has done and neglects to take any further responsibility for his work. The monster is therefore forced to learn to survive on his own wholly without the help of Frankenstein, who himself falls ill with the shock of his own audacity and exhaustion from working so hard. Before it is all over though, Frankenstein will be forced to confront both the monster and the true and widespread consequences of what he has done to the monster, himself and the world.

After all these years, it’s good to read the real story about Frankenstein and clear up the inconsistencies between how it all began and what it has become. Today we refer to Frankenstein as the monster when in reality he was the creator, at least on the surface of it all. It’s arguable which really was the monster, the man or his creation. After all, what Frankenstein did was monstrous from start to finish. Not only did he take on the role of God and mess with Creation, he then proceeded to wilfully neglect his responsibilities towards his own work. He created a soul and then left it to itself with no guidance and no help which ultimately caused great harm to himself, his family and his creation. He played God and failed miserably making him the real monster of the two.

The Monster himself shows great depths of feeling and humanity. Instead of laying the land to waste in order to survive, his first thoughts were to learn about the world so he could eek out his own place in it instead of living off others. He showed desire to help and be generous with his time and effort. The reader is left with the distinct impression that the Monster was intrinsically good, or at least better than his own creator. It was his own maker who was determined to make the Monster into something evil. The only evil in him was created out of a desperate loneliness, which really only proves how human he was despite his appearance. The monster really was a Modern Prometheus. He took the blame for the evil of his creator and the lack of humanity in the world at large despite his own innocence.

Frankenstein, on the other hand, was not a good man. It’s not really possible to say outright that he was evil, but he lacked all those things he “gave” to his creation: social responsibility and compassion being the greatest of these. Had he lived up to the responsibilities he incurred with his experiments and shown compassion for the monster, the harm done would have been greatly lessoned. However, he did not and therefore showed himself to be the lesser of the two beings.

Mary Shelley intended this to be a warning about the evils of modernisation and the industrial revolution, but it became so much more. The story is teaming with lessons for humanity, all of which still apply today. There are also the more abstract themes such as conflict between father and son, good verses evil and just what it means to be human. It’s a great story and well deserved of its status as a classic. 4.5 out of 5 for this one. The loss of the half point is debateable since I felt the telling of the story was a bit convoluted, but that’s probably down to the old-fashioned style of writing. More shame on me I suppose.

The Joy of Sales, or, The Victim in Victoria Station by Jeanne M. Dams

Audible sales are deadly, especially since they really know that if they give you one book of a series and you like it, you’re going to want to by the others, ergo, more sales for them. On the one hand, this is a good thing, on the other, it can truly be evil.

Pros:
• You can pick up a lot of books on the cheap (especially their $4.95 sales)
• If you don’t like it, at least it didn’t cost a fortune
• If you do like it, it still didn’t cost a fortune
• The sales are usually limited to a about 100 books or so, so it limits your focus and makes you look at and buy books you might otherwise not have given a second glance
• Said books can widen your horizons by introducing you to new authors and genres
• It helps to keep you from running out of reading material and the resultant state of shock and horror. This is especially important once you’ve gotten used to cleaning with a book. Not having a book to clean to now usually results in little to no cleaning of living area/car/dishes…you get the point.

Cons:
• You spend more money on books than you wanted to
• You spend more money on books that you needed to
• You spend more money on books than you really should
• You spend more money on books than is good for you
• You spend more money on books period

The entire con section can, however, usually be overruled with the argument “there are many, many worse things to spend your money on”, and besides, needs be you can always just go hungry at the end of the month – if you’re me, this will not hurt you in the slightest.

So, brought to you courtesy of Audible and their sales (again) is The Victim in Victoria Station.

Dorothy Martin is an elderly middle aged woman with a penchant for finding herself in the middle of a lot of trouble, mostly because she can’t leave it alone. On this particular occasion, her husband, a recently retired chief of police, is out of town and she is recovering from a broken leg. While on the train to London, she chats with her fellow passenger for a while before settling down to their own thoughts. She assumes that he has drifted off to sleep, but when she tries to wake him upon arrival, she realizes he’s dead. A doctor happens by and confirms that the man is indeed dead. After noting her name and address, he assures her he will take care of the situation. Dorothy, reassured and relieved, goes off to her appointment. Only later when strange things start to happen does Dorothy realize she has landed herself in the middle of another murder and has made herself a target to boot. With the help of friends, she sets off to get to the bottom of the whole business.

At first I was a little shocked that the reader read with an American accent, but Dorothy is an American, as is the author. Well done to Dams for this because if an American is going to write an English Murder Mystery, it’s a great point of view to write it from. Neither author nor character is pretending to be something they aren’t, so it works well. The narrator was also a good choice, even though her voice is quite a bit younger than the character. Kate Reading, a.k.a. Jennifer Mendenhall and Johanna Ward, is an American who grew up in England and Switzerland, so she’s good with all of the accents. I’ve heard her before under Johanna Ward and like her a lot.

The story itself was a good, comfy English murder which relies more on the characters than action. Dorothy and her friends are likeable, there’s little violence or language and the plot is fast-paced enough to hold the reader’s interest without becoming hectic. All in all, I found it quite a pleasant read, which is what this particular genre is really all about. Since I like me a good, comfy mystery to relax to, I’ll certainly be trying out more of the books in this series.

As a cosy mystery, 4 out of 5.

Necropolis by Anthony Horowitz

Four of the Five have been found and have come together in Peru. Just as they are about to leave the country to go off in search of the Fifth, they are attacked and their plans are thrown awry, forcing Matt to make decisions he would rather not have to make. Should he keep them all together or should he split them up? It seems whatever he does is doomed to fail. What use is finding the Fifth if the rest of the group is scattered to the winds? Meanwhile the Fifth, Scarlett, is fighting a destiny she does not yet know is hers while she tries to figure out what’s wrong with the world.

Necropolis is the fourth book in The Power of Five series. Again, this book shifts perspective as Scarlett is introduced and her tale is told. In itself, this wouldn’t have been a problem, but Horowitz not only switches between perspectives but sometimes goes backwards and forwards in time. This gets a little irritating as much of it seems repetitive. The story loses continuity and I can’t help but feel that it’s as if he wasn’t paying much attention to the book while he was writing it. It’s as if he had too many other things to think about to concentrate on making the novel a really good one. Almost as if he’s frankly just tired of writing the series and wants to get it over with so he can move on.

Having said that, it’s still a pretty good story and younger readers will certainly like it. Personally I don’t think it’s as good as the last two so it only gets 3 out of 5 from me.

The Memoires or Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Memoires or Sherlock Holmes is a collection of short tales about the feats of Sherlock Holmes written in the form of Memoires by his ever faithful sidekick Dr. Watson. They give what purports to be the most interesting of Holmes’ cases, including his finale with Professor Moriarty and how Holmes came to his death. Fortunately for us, the readers of the day kicked up such a fuss about killing Holmes off, that Doyle resurrected him in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

Having read both works recently, I can see why Doyle did what he did. First of all, there really is no other suitable death for Holmes because his character simply isn’t one that would grow old contentedly. Imagine a old, decrepit Holmes unable to go about his business chasing after criminals. He’s not particularly stable at the best of times, but inactivity would send him over the brink. Death by and with Moriarty was the best possible scenario in my opinion. However, Doyle was a bit premature with killing off his character and was forced to bring him back from the grave so to speak. Since Moriarty really was dead, that particular scenario couldn’t happen twice (that would have been cheesy anyway). I

I can also see why he was so eager to kill off Holmes. The more you read, the more similarities you start to see between the cases and they becoming increasingly easier to solve yourself, or at least to imagine where Doyle will take the reader. I think Doyle might have been afraid that he would become stale and tried to do what so many others before him should have done, i.e. quit while he was ahead.

I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy the book, because I did, it’s only that I can see Doyle’s reasoning. 5 out of 5 for this lot because how could you give Holmes any less!

The Five Red Herrings by Dorothy Sayers

Sandy Campbell is a drunken, aggressive painter who manages to make enemies of nearly everyone in the small village in Galloway. Lord Peter Wimsey is in the area fishing and as he knows, and likes, most of the people in the village, he offers his assistance and with his help, the police set off to find out which one of 5 men killed Campbell.

There’s not much to say about this one. Sayers has never grabbed me like Christie did, so unless I get them on sale or from the library, I haven’t really put much effort into reading her books. They’re cosy, comfortable mysteries good for a pleasant bout of reading that doesn’t require a whole lot of thought or effort. This one is neither brilliant, nor horrible. It earns a solid 3 from me.

The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowels

Figuring I needed to get myself out of my wallow in crime and YA literature, I decided I needed to read a classic and went with The French Lieutenant’s Woman as a cross between classic and future classic; it’s not quite a heavy book, but not a light read either.

Sarah Woodruff is a woman jilted in love, or is she? She can be seen pining day after day on the Cobb in Lyme Regis staring out to sea apparently after her French lover whom she nursed during his recovery from an injury sustained in a shipwreck, but who left her as soon as he’d recovered. She is penniless and alone and the society of the time would have condemned her to the life of an outcast for her “crimes”, but through the charity and kindness of others, finds a place as a lady’s companion. Mrs. Poulteney takes Sarah in out of a need to prove her piety. Sarah accepts that she must suffer for her past indiscretions, at the same time refusing to divulge any details or even hint that she may feel penitent. She lives her life seemingly without hope for improvement or thought of the future, often refusing to take advantage of offers of assistance given to her. The only comfort she does allow herself is the confidence of Charles, who is affianced to Ernestina, a wealthy woman of the rising classes. Charles and Sarah enter into a relationship which may lead to both their ruin.

This book is destined to become a classic, or already is one despite its relatively recent publishing date. It was written in 1969 but takes place in Victorian England. It’s written from the point of an omniscient narrator who provides insights and commentary into both today’s society, i.e. that of 1969, and Victorian society, often offering praises and critique of both. He imparts not only the character’s feelings, but the reasons behind those feelings as well. Victorian England can often be a complicated and incomprehensible world for modern society as it’s based on many rules and regulations which often seem to have no logical derivation even though they are obviously motivated by Religion an purity of soul.

That Sarah is based on Tess of the D’Urbervilles is obvious to anyone who has read the latter. Fowles not only includes many quotes and references to Hardy, but Sarah, at least on the surface, is really just a clone of Tess, who also feels the constant need for penitence and punishment. The twist is that Fowles includes Doctor Grogan in his story who offers another possible interpretation to Sarah, namely that of a maniacal, twisted woman who is out to manipulate others to her own benefit. He changes Charles perspective and forces him to confront his feelings and opinions. Fowles also offers the reader several scenarios within his own book, all of which are possible and believable. He forces the reader into thinking about which ending he would chose for the characters. I won’t give my choice away because it would ruin the story for anyone who hasn’t read it. Besides, that would just lead me to spending an age discussing all the variants.

It’s an interesting read and well worth it. The modern commentary and the twists Fowles introduced kept it from being as gloomy and doomy as Tess and Hardy are, thus making it the more pleasant read. I now understand what all the fuss was about. 5 out of 5.

Death in a Far Country by Patricia Hall

Suprise, suprise, suprise! This is another one I got through an Audible sale. What can I say, I bought a few during their last $4.95 sale.

I’m afraid it’s yet another crime/mystery as I remain in my relaxing, shut down summer mode.

DCI Michael Thackeray is just back from sick leave after having been shot. He’s still facing an inquiry from his last case where his girl friend, Laura Ackroyd a local journalist, became involved in his case with deadly consequences. He has no time for respite on the job as he is catapulted into a new case involving the local football club and human trafficking when a young girl of unknown identity is found dead. Again this leads him and Laura down a path they don’t want to take, but must deal with all the same. Both face difficult decisions as they race against the clock to find a murderer and those who brought the girl into the country.

Frankly, I didn’t care for this one. Despite the potentially loaded subject matter and moral quandaries of human trafficking and abuse of those in no position to defend themselves, the whole thing seemed much too formulaic and one dimensional. Thackeray is a standard detective with his girl friend who is often in the way of things. Hall spent much too much time going over the past instead of focusing on the present. It wasn’t a long book as it was, but if you removed the discussion about events in the last book, there wouldn’t be much left of the current one. What was left felt a bit like Hollywood schema #47. It felt unoriginal and unrealistic, and if the recaps of the last book are anything to go by, the plot was fairly repetitive with Ackroyd doing the same thing all over again. The ending was also too pat and too convenient to be realistic and left me feeling a bit like Disney had its oar in there somewhere. 2 out of 5 with a recommendation to read only if you’re bored or not in the mood for challenging.

Dead Like You by Peter James

I’m beginning to feel a little bit top heavy on crime novels lately, but I do like them and it’s summer, which is my busy season at work, so I’ve been choosing my books for fun and relaxation.

I also have to admit that I often read other reviews before I write my own, mostly because I’ve already read several other books before I get around to writing a review and I need reminding of what the book was about. Usually a word or two suffices and the memory comes flooding back, but it’s often necessary all the same. What disturbs me about this is that some of the reviews can be the exact opposite of what I think of a book. It makes me doubt my own judgement, especially if I enjoyed reading it. What bothers me most though is that it seems to me that many of the critics are judging books against others which aren’t really relevant or even against an invisible wall of criteria which don’t really apply. When I review a book, regardless whether it’s Literature, crime, YA or a children’s book, I try and review and judge it within its own genre. I don’t expect anything profound from a crime novel, just as I expect children’s books to be fun and enjoyable. I can only rate a book in comparison to others like it, even if an author has hitherto written books of a different kind. You cannot really compare an apple to an orange even if they do come from the same garden. I guess what I’m trying to say is that most crime or mysteries are never going to be Nobel Prize material, but that doesn’t change my liking, or my regard for them. My reviews might just be a bit shorter because these types of books aren’t meant to be analysed to death. They were written for enjoyment and not to compete with great literature giants.

Having said my piece (which I have the sneaking suspicion isn’t the first time I’ve done that), on to the book.

This is one of the Superintendent Roy Grace series and follows the possible re-emergence of the Shoe Man, a rapist with a fetish for shoes, who eventually became a murderer. Grace is worried that he’ll continue to be able to pray on women and that his crimes may escalate if he cannot find and stop the man. The whole scenario was enough to make me glad that I haven’t a shoe fetish, or at least not a high-class, high-heel, designer shoe fetish. I could buy walking and hiking shoes/sandals from here to kingdom come, but you won’t get me into a pair of high heels (frankly that would just end in a visit to the hospital and possible several weeks of intense pain).

Back to the book at hand, the reader is also treated to a more in-depth look into Grace’s life with his wife Sandy opening up the book to a second dimension. Until now, Sandy has pretty much been put on a pedestal while Grace searches for her and the reason for her sudden disappearance. As Grace remembers the first investigation into the Shoe Man, James fleshes out Sandy and Grace’s relationship with her, offering the reader insight into possible motives for her vanishing act. It’s another reminder that things are often not as they seem, even with inside information.

I thought this was one of the better Grace novels. The mystery held my attention, James kept up the suspense well without becoming tedious and there’s enough character connection that you care what happens to them. 4 out of 5.

The Various Haunts of Men by Susan Hill

Once again, thanks to Audible for their sales because I’ve just found a new author to follow. The Various Haunts of Men is the first in the Simon Serrailler series and it’s brilliant. But before I wax enthusiastic on this one, let me tell you what it was about.

A geriatric night-nurse with a well-ordered life goes running one morning and never returns, even though it was obvious she intended to do so. The only person who misses her is her employer, who held her in high regard and swears she wouldn’t just not show up for work, despite the statistics that tell her differently. She pressures the police into taking an interest which DI Freya Graffham does. She also can find no reason for the woman to have disappeared, she does however, discover the woman had a secret life and secret love, but they are just that, secret. There are absolutely no hints as to who the man is or where she met him, just and bills for gifts she gave him. The case seems to be going nowhere and Freya is even losing ground with DCI Serrailler who believes in her instinct, when they suddenly start connecting more and more disappearances. There is a particular hill that seems to swallow people up leaving no trace as to where they went.

Parallel to the disappearances, a couple of new alternative therapists arrive on the scene. DCI Serrailler’s sister, who is a doctor, is trying to figure out who they are and just how dangerous they may be.

This is a fairly complicated book with several stories running parallel to each other with seemingly no connection. I’ve read books where this has been the death of the novel because they move too slowly and the reader loses interest. Hill prevents this her life-like characters. She draws the reader in and makes them interested in what has happened to these people and what’s going on in their lives. When she leaves one hanging for a while and then returns to them, you find yourself wanting to know what the character has been doing in the meantime. I also found myself trying to make the connection between the incidents and people, just as Graffham was, which gave me an extra bit of affinity with her. I could feel her frustration and determination to find out just what was going on. Hill also doesn’t leave you out in the cold with clues and hints you aren’t privy to or can’t possibly understand. It’s actually quite the opposite, because the reader is privy to the many different stories connected with the disappearances. Even if you do figure it out before Graffham does, it doesn’t detract from the suspense because you switch back to worrying about the characters and egging them on to do what you already know would be the most sensible thing.

Brilliant story, well written and woven together, great characters. For the first time in a while I can give a book an unreserved 5 out of 5.

Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy

I know, I know, I know! I keep swearing I won’t read anymore Hardy, except for Jude the Obscure, and then I keep doing it anyway. What can I say, the mini-series was good and it was on sale, so I thought I’d give it a whirl in the hopes that Hardy took a happy pill like when he wrote Return of the Native.

Someone should have given the man a larger supply of happy pills. Seriously, Hardy can make a jovial party sound like a dirge.

Fancy Day returns to her native village to become the new school mistress. Dick Dewy falls in love with her at first sight and tries his best to make a good impression on her. Fancy likes Dick, but is hesitant to return his affections as she knows her father wants better for her. She is educated to a much higher standard than Dick and as such, her father meant her to rise in the world instead of remain where she was born. Nonetheless, she is attached to Dick. When she receives proposals from both Dick and the new vicar, she is at a loss as to what to do. Meanwhile, the village is undergoing a struggle between the musicians, who have always provided music for the church services, and the new vicar, who would like to replace them with an organ, played by Fancy Day.

There’s not really a whole lot to this story, and frankly, the mini-series was better. They fleshed the story out a bit and made Fanny less wishy-washy and better able to stand on her own. They also left out the melancholic note that Hardy manages to let seep into all of his works. It gives the story a happier air, even though not everyone in it is a winner. All in all, it was so-so. If you’re looking for a quick introduction to Hardy, this is probably a good place to start. Still, it’s definitely not the best of his work. 3 out of 5.

Midwinter of the Spirit by Phil Rickman

After her first brush with the otherworldly, Merrily is asked by the new, aggressive/progressive bishop to become the official Diocesan Exorcist, or Head of the Deliverance Department. Reluctantly she takes up the challenge, only to find herself thwarted at every turn. Her tutor actively seeks to turn her away from the challenge with the reasoning that women should become more comfortable with their new role within the church before moving on to tackle such grey areas. The newly retired diocesan exorcist is openly against women in the church and blatantly tries to sabotage Merrily’s first efforts before she can get a toehold in. His old secretary, on the other hand, is thrilled to have Merrily fill his shoes as she is convinced that there are things going on in the cathedral which shouldn’t be.

Whilst struggling to find her place within the church, Merrily must also help her daughter find her place in the world. Jane is also interested in the paranormal, but rejects the church and sets off on her own to discover for herself what she really believes and really doesn’t. As most teenagers do, she rejects her mother’s help and advice and winds up in trouble of her own.

I think I mentioned in my review of the first Merrily book, The Wine of Angels, that this isn’t really a genre I would normally be attracted to. I’m not overly enamoured with anything New Age or as Old Age as exorcism. However, Phil Rickman really does manage to make the best out of all the directions this book takes. It’s a combination of clerical mystery, crime, thriller and ghost story, all of which he pulls together nicely. He has good, strong characters who are easy to care about, a great setting and just enough action to keep the reader interested without going overboard. I also like that he’s outlining the struggles women still encounter today because even if they are set within the church, it’s still a reflection of the way society functions as a whole.

This book could have gone either way, but Rickman pulls it off well. 4 out of 5.