Tag: Book Review
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Taken by Dinuka McKenzie
The disappearance of an infant drives Dinuka McKenzie’s outstanding sophomore novel “Taken,” which sees the return of Detective Sergeant Kate Miles, back from maternity leave and the tumultuous events of “The Torrent.” McKenzie strikes me as an unrepentant classicist when it comes to crime fiction, and here, once again, she keeps the traditional police procedural […]
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The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy
For all its pulpy accoutrements — a passenger has vanished from a crashed plane, and mysterious government agents are hunting down salvage diver Bobby Western — “The Passenger” is as much a thriller as “The Road” is a horror novel. Which is to say, yes — on a foundational level you can see glimpses of […]
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Triple Cross by James Patterson
The Alex Cross novels were a staple of my teenage reading, and I still like to check in now and again, even though the patented James Patterson storytelling formula has somewhat lost its lustre. In “Triple Cross,” the titular detective is investigating the brutal slayings of whole families around the D.C. area by ‘The Family […]
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The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill
Sulari Gentill adds an intriguing wrinkle to the mystery genre with “The Woman in the Library,” which sees Winifred “Freddie” Kincaid arriving in Boston from Australia as the recipient of a prestigious writers’ fellowship. While contemplating her manuscript in the Boston Public Library, a woman’s scream pierces the stillness, which becomes the central conceit of her […]
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Bad Actors by Mick Herron
Mick Herron’s caustically satirical spy series continues with “Bad Actors,” its eighth instalment, which deals with the disappearance of Sophie de Greer, a ‘superforecaster’ employed by the British government — who might be a Russian agent, which would be very bad news indeed for the man who hired her; Anthony Sparrow, the Prime Minister’s key adviser; and for MI5 chief Diane […]
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Cop and Robber by Tristan Bancks
Tristan Bancks is my go-to author for young readers who come into the bookshop desperate for something pacy and addictive. I can’t rave highly enough about “Two Wolves,” “Detention” and (my favourite) “The Fall.” Bancks knows how to create a killer hook, a scintillating premise that demands exploration; and his characters are always fully-fledged concoctions, accoutred with […]
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The Heron’s Cry by Ann Cleeves
“The Heron’s Cry” is my first Ann Cleeves, and it most assuredly will not be my last. There’s no reason why it’s taken me so long to get around to reading the prolific creator of the Vera Stanhope mysteries and the Shetland series (among others…) — my only excuse is that I only have so much time […]
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Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Continuing my sojourn through the books I studied in High School with William Golding’s “The Lord of the Flies,” which wears its themes on its sleeves, and whose lack of subtlety makes it easy to digest and commentate. Of all the books I remember reading for class, this is the one whose essay formed most easily.
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Shadows Reel by C.J. Box
“Shadows Reel” is not the place to start the Joe Pickett series. Never mind that it’s the twenty-second instalment — really, the expanse of a series should never prohibit new readers from jumping into the fray — but C.J. Box’s latest picks up directly from last year’s stellar “Dark Sky,” with Joe’s old pal, master-falconer […]
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The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan
In Jessamine Chan’s “The School for Good Mothers,” Frida Liu — a recently divorced Chinese American mother of 18-month old Harriett — makes the imprudent, sleep-deprived decision to leave her daughter at home alone for a few hours to head into the office and catch up on work. When the authorities discover Harriett unattended, Frida’s […]
Simon McDonald 