Game

(The Game Trilogy, Book 1)

by Anders de la Motte

384 pages - 11,99 $ (kindle)

Atria/Emily Bestler Books

I heard about this trilogy based on a game and technology. Not just any game, of course, a global game and a game master who pulls the strings and plays with the lives of his players. Anders de la Motte is a former cop, a consultant in international security and now a recognized and honored author for this trilogy. Thanks Netgalley and Atria Books for this book.

Synopsys

Follow the rules and everybody gets hurt . . . 

One Sunday morning after a long night of partying, Henrik “HP” Pettersson, a slacker with a lot of ego and very little impulse control, finds a cell phone of an unfamiliar make on a commuter train. Through insisting and slightly uncanny messages that refer to him by name, the phone invites him to play a game. HP accepts without hesitation. 

The rules are that HP must complete tasks that range from childish pranks to criminal acts, as allocated by the mysterious Game Master. HP is the perfect contender—alienated from society, devoid of morals, and desperate for fame. His completion of the assignments are filmed and uploaded onto a protected server where viewers rate the Players’ performances. 

The Game starts out innocently enough and then becomes increasingly risky, threatening the safety of someone close to HP. He is determined to become a superstar, but when the dark and tragic secrets of his family’s past are at stake, HP must make a choice. Will he suffer the humiliation of defeat, or will the need to win push him to the limit—no matter the cost? 

First in a fast-paced and riveting trilogy, Game will leave you guessing. Follow the rules, andeverybody gets hurt . . .

What I think of it

The story mostly follows Henrik (HP) and his sister Rebecca who are very different from one another. HP is a very intelligent waster but a rotten family history has left traces in him, as in his sister. The result is that he has a fundamental need for recognition. It's this need that the game master uses to get him into the game. Rebecca has a need to control everything in her life up to leave messages on her answering machine not to forget to do something and finds herself drawn into the game. We don't really know why these two are targeted by The Game at the end of the book but it's clear that there is an underlying reason which will undoubtedly clear at the end of the trilogy. I confess that I have not really hung out with the two characters. HP lacks a bit too much moral for my taste to make him friendly. As for Rebecca, she is too much aloof so I really appreciate her.

The coolest in this book is to explore the many a time discussed theme of international conspiracy but from the (almost) inside said plot. Of course, we don't know who pulls the strings in the first book but to know how it works, it's interesting. Each stunt is the result of a multitude of actions issued by the players. Everything is very well explained in the book and it makes the game credible. Finally, the book end with a cliffhanger and answers a question (who recruited HP?) but that answer is just what you need to want to read the other books (if you didn't already).

The pace and way of writing are well chosen to reproduce the idea of ​​a game. We move on to each character, one after the other like in a game. Paragraphs are sometimes very short, there are emails and texting. This gives the impression of being live, which reinforces the impression of being a spectator of The Game.

In a nutshell

While it's unfortunate that the two main characters are not the friendliest, game enthusiasts or international conspiracy lovers will love this book. I give it 3/ 5.

Out of exile

by Luke Preston

A Tom Bishop Fampage

Momentum (October 1, 2013)

254 pages - 4.99 $ (kindle)

Luke Preston was recommended by several authors that I follow on Twitter. As these authors are good, I think that they should also have good taste about books, right? Plus, Luke Preston on Twitter has a keen humour so I wanted to read his second book when I saw it on NetGalley. A thank you to Momentum for the book!

The blurb

Sometimes a little violence is a good thing

You can't go on the kind of spree ex-cop Tom Bishop did and not face consequences.

After three years of rotting in a cell, Bishop is busted out of prison in the dead of night and thrown into the middle of a police war where the stakes are high and personal.

Now, the very man who put him away calls on his help. But what starts out as a simple rescue mission escalates into an adrenaline-fuelled, action packed thrill-ride as Bishop plunges into a web of conspiracy that threatens to destroy his soul, but may provide the truth about his past.

Out of Exile is the anticipated follow up to the award-nominated Dark City Blue.

What I think of it

Out of Exile is the sequel to Dark City Blue that has already caused a stir at the time and that ends with Bishop in prison. Fortunately, not having read the first book does not stop to read the second. Some references are made, of course, but I never felt out of the gang, which is great, but it does make you long to read Dark City Blue!

Out of Exile is not a book you read, it's a effing action-packed film, a kind of Die Hard with a more virile McLane! It's explosive, relentless and incredibly funny. This is an action-packed film where the hero is not afraid to get his hands dirty.

About the characters in the book: we mainly follow Tom Bishop ex-cop who ended up in jail for having taking out the dirty cops who killed his daughter. He's therefore in jail at the beginning of the book. He's a tough guy, violent but who always tries to do what is right. As he says : "Sometimes a little violence is the right thing to do." He is very tall, bald and full of scars (due to bullets received in Dark Blue City), he's the kind of person who would make you want to change of pavement if you crossed him. Yet we can't help ourselves to like him, to know that with him on our side we have the best chance we can get to survive.

One thing I really appreciated is that Bishop does not hesitate to let go of something when he sees that he can't do it. He won't run unnecessarily in front of guns - assuming that him being alive will be more useful. Often heroes risk their lives in situations where logic dictates to hide away from bullets. Obviously, the hero never dies, but it's more difficult to identify with that kind of hero. Bishop reacts more consistently with logic and even if his stamina is much better than mine... I found that he was more realistic in his decisions.

The story is very complex, ultra-fast paced. Tom must team up with a gang of criminals to try to save the victims of a hostage. But he soon realizes that the hostage-taking is a tactic to reach for even more violent and devious ends. He's of course pursued by justice but managed to get the support of some former colleagues. It's a chase against the clock, the dirty cops, cops... no time to lose! There's a lot of stunts, explosions and other ingredients for a good action movie in this book. English is not my mother tongue so I read more slowly than in French and yet I read this book in two days! I couldn't let go of it.

In a nutshell

An explosive book, funny with a very interesting main character which is easy to relate to. A big favorite for this thriller. I give it 5 /5 (and  I run to buy Dark Blue City)

My thought on closing the book: Wow, it rocks!

The King's Hounds

by Martin Jensen

AmazonCrossing (29 octobre 2013)

272 pages - 5.21 $ (Kindle)

I've had this book through NetGalley. I know it's lame but its cover had me from the start... and then, the blurb did the rest!

The blurb

The first in the bestselling Danish series of historical mysteries

The newly crowned King Cnut of Denmark has conquered England and rules his new empire from Oxford. The year is 1018 and the war is finally over, but the unified kingdom is far from peaceful.

Halfdan’s mixed lineage—half Danish, half Saxon—has made him a pauper in the new kingdom. His father, his brother, and the land he should have inherited were all taken by the new king’s men. He lost everything to the war but his sense of humor. Once a proud nobleman, Halfdan now wanders the country aimlessly, powered only by his considerable charm and some petty theft. When he finds an unlikely ally in Winston, a former monk, he sees no reason not to accept his strange invitation to travel together to Oxford. Winston has been commissioned to paint a portrait of the king at the invitation of his new wife, and the protection of a clever man like Halfdan is well worth its price in wine and bread.

But when the pair’s arrival in court coincides with news of a murder, the king has a brilliant idea: Why not enlist the newly arrived womanizing half-Dane and the Saxon intellectual to defuse a politically explosive situation? The pair represents both sides of the conflict and seem to have crime-solving skills to boot. In their search for the killer, Halfdan and Winston find seduction, adventure, and scandal in the wild early days of Cnut’s rule.

What I think of it

I loved it! An excellent book, very pleasant, very nice, very funny.

I completely fell for Halfdan - who tells the story in the first person - even if he sometimes lacks in moral sense. When we meet him, he's about to rob Winston to steal his food and he's considering it without qualm. Add to that that he's a real womanizer and that he does not hesitate to use violence if necessary. I don't know if it's his humor or the fact that he's sometimes unlucky or clumsy, but he's a very likable character that one quickly appreciates. Winston, the brain of the pair is also a great character: former monk, an intelligence based on the thoroughness and details, he has a sense of his superiority. He regularly highlights the fact that he was the first one to understand one thing and that Halfdan could have done the same by thinking. Winston and Halfdan are a bit like Holmes and Watson, although Watson in this book is a little more crafty and womanizer. Do not forget the donkey, Atheling, which provides some very funny and light scenes, especially when in the presence of Halfdan.

The plot is well done. It a classic whodunit, the number of potential suspects is known quickly, all that is to know is which one did it. The elements are revealed one after the other, in a chain of events that leads logically to the killer. It is easy to know who killed before the end, but the overall context of the book makes that story interesting until the end. We also learn more about judgment and how people defended themselves at the time (and thankfully that has changed!)

I enjoyed getting to know the life in England at the time, which makes this book very interesting from the historical side. It's also nice to discover the historical side of the history of England from the perspective of a Danish. Here, the Danes or Vikings are not the bad guys just because they have invaded the country.

Finally, Halfdan and Winston have three days to discover the murderer so the pace is fast, you won't get bored. There's action, especially as Cnut want to solve the problem as soon as possible, meetings more or less pleasant and characters that bring a lot of freshness. And icing on the cake, this book is the first in a series.

In a nutshell

A little treasure. The light atmosphere of the book - especially thanks to Halfdan I must say - the plot, the historical context: it's all well written, well done and very enjoyable to read. I highly recommend this book! I give it 4.5 / 5.

My thought on closing the book : Excellent!

The Heavens Rise

by Christopher Rice

Simon & Schuster Canada, Inc.

Kindle edition : 14.99 $

336 pages

I had that book through NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. I thought the blurb was promising and him being the son of his mother... I expected a great book, full of mystery, voodoo, bayou and such things that delight me in Anne Rice's books (I know, it's stupid, good writing is not genetic... but hey, one can hope right?)

The blurb 

It’s been a decade since the Delongpre family vanished near Bayou Rabineaux, and still no one can explain the events of that dark and sweltering night. No one except Niquette Delongpre, the survivor who ran away from the mangled stretch of guardrail on Highway 22 where the impossible occurred…and kept on running. Who left behind her best friends, Ben and Anthem, to save them from her newfound capacity for destruction…and who alone knows the source of her very bizarre—and very deadly—abilities: an isolated strip of swampland called Elysium.

An accomplished surgeon, Niquette’s father dreamed of transforming the dense acreage surrounded by murky waters into a palatial compound befitting the name his beloved wife gave to it, Elysium: “the final resting place for the heroic and virtuous.” Then, ten years ago, construction workers dug into a long-hidden well, one that snaked down into the deep, black waters of the Louisiana swamp and stirred something that had been there for centuries—a microscopic parasite that perverts the mind and corrupts the body.

Niquette is living proof that things done can’t be undone. Nothing will put her family back together again. And nothing can save her. But as Niquette, Ben, and Anthem uncover the truth of a devastating parasite that has the potential to alter the future of humankind, Niquette grasps the most chilling truths of all: someone else has been infected too. And unlike her, this man is not content to live in the shadows. He is intent to use his newfound powers for one reason only: revenge.

What I think of it

I really loved the eerie atmosphere. For that, I was not deceived: we're in Louisiana, with all its charms, its secrets, its carnival, its so peculiar atmosphere that's so easy to fell for. The beginning of the book (or more likely its 2/3) is all about the setting. There's not a lot of action, its more about a secret you'll be aware very soon but without knowing its content. We follow some characters through some events that show you there's a problem (a big one at that), that something is wrong. You understand rapidly that it's something about the bayou, you think its voodoo, then you discover it's more scientific than you thought. All in all the build-up is very well done: there's a lot of tension, you don't know which one will be hurt, you don't know what'll happen. 

About the characters. We follow different people without really becoming attached to them. The story is about Niquette and her two friends, Ben and Anthem. Something big happens to Niquette, she's changed for ever yet she's not very present in the book.  Ben and his boss are those we see more often and in a sense they can be seen as the main protagonists. Ben is the character I liked the most, probably because he's more present. Anthem seems a nice guy but we don't see a lot about him or not enough to really feel for him. The bad guy in the story, Mitchell, is so purely bad without any real reason, that it's difficult to hate him! As for Niquette, that's a pity she's not more present throughout the book, seeing that she's kind of the reason for all the violence! I wish the author had written his characters as well as his setting, it would have been terrific!

About the story, as I said, the tension is well built along the plot, it's increasing slowly but surely. You're captivated by the atmosphere, by the setting, by the secret and you let yourself go with the story, thinking hoping that the end will be astonishing. That's where I was disappointed. The end is too easy, too quick, too not credible. I can't say why cause I'll give the plot but I'm not sure I'll accept as easily that killing people to gain an ability is no sweat...

In a nutshell

Christopher Rice is a good writer and his world can be bewitching but the book lacks of credible explanations and of an end that makes sense. Those who prefer an eerie atmosphere in a book will be delighted, those who prefer a strong story might not like it. I give it a 3/5. 

The Clearing

by Dan Newman

Available October 29, 2013

ISBN: 9781909223523

Format: Large (Trade) Paperback

336 pages - $ 16.99 CAN

I received an email informing me of Exhibit A's future release of this book. I liked the summary and I wanted to discover the author. So I ask and received and ARC (and was so happy to have a real book instead of an ePub!) This book is the last in the challenge R.I.P. VIII.

Synopsis

In 1976, four boys walked into a jungle. Only three came back alive.

Haunted by terrifying childhood memories he doesn't fully understand, journalist Nate Mason returns to the Caribbean island of St. Lucia where he grew up.

Back then, as the son of a diplomat, he was part of an elite social circle. But during a weekend of whispered secrets and dares in a decaying jungle mansion staffed by the descendants of slaves, Nate’s innocence was torn apart.

The survivors of that gathering blamed what happened on a myth, an unseen terror from the bush. No one believed them. But now. almost forty years later, is the truth finally about to come out?

Within hours of arriving back on the island, Nate becomes convinced he’s being followed. He soon discovers that his search for answers could cost him his sanity as well as his life, as he realises that some childhood nightmares never go away.

Can childhood nightmares haunt you for the rest of your life? How much do you need to believe in a monster for it to become real? The Clearing is a dark and atmospheric psychological thriller, full of intrigue, terror and superstition, which examines our deepest fears of the unknown. A potent mix of the friendship and bravery of Stand By Me and the betrayals and fear of Angel Heart.

What I think of it

We follow Nate who returns several years later on the island - where he lived a dramatic story in his youth - to end a series of galleys in his life that are bound to the famous event. We follow him but at different times through flashbacks (at the time of the event when he lived in the island, at a crucial period of his recent past and nowadays). What may seem confusing actually let us understand the current events, the reason for his return to the island and to be closer to him. Because we discover the young boy, full of joy, excitement and terror, we learn to appreciate him, we want to protect him (I confess : the fact that I'm the mother of a pre-teen of the same age had a lot to play in this part !)

Facts, old and new, are discovered along the story. There's that idea that we can't understand the present without knowing the past and that premise is good. There is also a supernatural hand (it is an island!) Voodoo is never far away, odd situations are never exactly explained but are well designed to create a distressing condition for Nate who don't understand them because he's not native. Nor are we, so we very well put ourselves in his shoes, living a surreal adventure (have you ever get a chicken leg thrown in your face?). We do not understand but we feel very uncomfortable. So there is a rise of feelings of discomfort, fear and misunderstanding well conducted by the author, who knows the islands, having lived there.

There are some lengthy parts although the space does not falter. How so? It takes a lot of time for Nate to get to his goal and of course many things happen but at times I felt that the author could have not included some mishaps. Fortunately, the atmosphere of the book, how Newman tells the story and the back and forth in time are so well done that every time I began to find it long, the story bounced, the pace accelerated and I was reconciled with the book.

Nate wishes to return to the place of origin of his bad luck to solve all his problems. I admit that when I discovered why he wanted to go back I found it a bit superfluous. The fear experienced by the children is enough to explain their tell at the time and Nate's desire to return was largely explicable by his guilt associated with the event 25 years ago. The end is not as thrilling than is suggested by the story, even if the author manages to make it more enjoyable by adding a final touch of mystery.

One of the characters in the book (if you can talk about character) is the island itself. Certainly there are other people in the novel but in my opinion the island holds the upper hand with Nate. The author has described it as scary as a spot paradise. As much with a joyful atmosphere as a strange one and just as simple in relationships than full of several customs and beliefs that complicate things. We understand and share the joy of Nate who revisit some places, the longing for his childhood but also his fear. That island has two sides to its coin and it can turn very quickly!

In a nutshell

A good novel with its particular and pleasant atmosphere. A character we learn to like, an island that puts a spell on you. I give it a 3.5/5.

My thought on closing the book: what a good dive into the Culture of the islands!

Letters from a murderer

by John Mathews
Angry Robot - Exhibit A
A Jameson and Argenti case

US/CAN Print

Date: 24th September 2013

ISBN: 9781909223370

Format: Large (Trade) Paperback

R.R.P.: US$14.99 CAN$16.99

ARC

En français ici

I must admit it, I've got a soft spot for stories (in books or TV) about the Ripper. Ripper Street and most recently Withechapel immediately caught my attention, as do the books taking up the mood, style and the blackness of any good book revolving around that story. So naturally, when I saw this book on NetGalley... how to say... I could not miss it! And again, thanks to the excellent house Exhibit A I had the pleasure of reading Letters from a Murderer.

Description

New York, 1891. A new breed of cop for a new breed of killer…

The first in a series of hard-boiled New York Victorian mysteries, featuring Finley Jameson & Joseph Argenti.

If Arthur Conan Doyle had been asked to write a sequel to Gangs of New York, then this would be it.

“One genius criminal profiler. One ruthless, streetwise cop. Both will need all their wits to capture the most notorious killer of all time.”

New York, 1891. A prostitute is found brutally murdered. The victim bears the same hallmarks as a notorious recent killing spree in England. Could it be that killer has crossed the Atlantic to fresh killing grounds? Or is this simply a copycat murder? Fear spreads through a city already rife with cut-throat gangs, corruption and vice. Aristocratic English pathologist, Finley Jameson, is teamed up with Joseph Argenti, a streetwise New York cop, to solve the case. But as the body-count rises and the killer taunts his pursuers in open letters, Jameson & Argenti find themselves fighting not just to prevent yet more victims, but also to save the city’s very soul.

What I think of it

What's about that book? The two main characters Jameson and Argenti, united for better or for worse. Worse, because Argenti, American copper, has some difficulty understanding Jameson, the English aristocrat, to the point where he began to suspect him. All opposed the street cop to the English pathologist. However, the duo works very well, helped by Lawrence, another great character who brings the better out of the two detectives. We like to follow their pilgrimage, we want to be part of their trio.

The secondary characters are also very present, we learn to know the bandits, we know that when Brogan arrives, it will go wrong, that when Tierney comes, it will end badly for someone. So there are heroes on one side, the bad guys on the other side and in between the victims. Again, the author presents them - very briefly for some of them (just the time to die, in fact) - some girls we learn to know better. We get to know the "girls", to like them and fear for them, which makes the murders of the unknown ones more tragic because it could have happened to one of the girls that we know. This is a range of well thought and well written characters you learn to appreciate - or not when it comes to Tierney or Brogan...

The atmosphere: cold, hard and filthy. We are not always in the most exclusive neighborhoods in New York. The docks are very presents, the shallows in background, taverns and brothels provide the framework for the novel. Of course, prostitutes being the victims, the poorest neighborhoods are affected, where crooks of all kinds reign. The contrast is even greater than when we follow Jameson and Argenti at the opera or in the best restaurants in New York.

The investigation was initially conducted by an incompetent lined with dirty cops. Given the lack of results, Argenti takes over the investigation but it doesn't  serve the purpose of some who resent the fact that the upright cop could gain prestige. Argenti and Jameson are launched on false leads in order to harm them, which also hinders the investigation when the killer continues to kill. This is a fight against the killer and against scammers and rogue cops in the city that the two detectives must lead.

The pace accelerates as we go along traps and the progress of the investigation. When Argenti and Jameson find who is the culprit, he does everything to escape them. We are then entitled to some spectacular scenes of chases and attempted murders. The latter being orchestrated by both the killer who will not be taken and by the local ringleader, who wants Argenti to fail.

In a nutshell

For lovers of TV shows, I would say that this novel is a beautiful blend of Ripper Street and Copper, as much for the atmosphere as for the characters. A very good book, full of action, chases and twists. This is the first novel about Argenti and Jameson and I can not wait to read more! I give it a 4/5.

My thought on closing the book: That was some fun!

Here's another great review by Josh on the book. 

Thy Kingdom Fall (After Eden Series, Book #1)

by Austin Dragon

Well-Tailored Books

359 pages

ARC

I requested the book because I thought it could be a change to read a mystery novel set in the future (kind of like the serie Continuum). I must say I was a bit afraid of the religious side. 

Synopsis

It is the morning of September 11, 2125. The New York City police commissioner stands on the 170th floor of the Three Towers, clutching his chest in shock. The sky goes dark, filled with dozens of them—the opening attack of World War III. Not merely the planet’s third global war, but the first one of the Tek Age— a hell we have never seen before.

How did we ever get to this place?

In 2089, a former skin-runner-turned-star-reporter quietly investigates the Washington DC daylight murder of the most powerful political king-maker in the nation. It is just the tip of a wider conspiracy and the start of a chain of events leading to this world catastrophe.

The world is a very different place: Western Europe has fallen to the Islamic Caliphate, Israel is gone, Eastern Europe has merged with Russia and Beijing runs the anti-American Chinese-Indian Alliance. America is very different too. The US Constitution has been found unconstitutional and replaced, presidential term limits are gone, and the culture wars are over. The three-term American president is obsessed with keeping the nation safe at all costs—by ending religiosity. But the Resistance stands in his way.

Thy Kingdom Fall is Book One of the epic After Eden Series.

What I think of it

I wish I was able to read more of the book but I couldn't. I abandoned the book on page 94. Too much sanctimonious and religious for me. Dragon describes at length why religions collapsed, how they're now organised, what they should have done... Pages and pages on the subject. 

Sad, because the characters are well described. We easily know who are the good guys and the bad guys. The reporter is likable as well as his boss. The way they interact, the way Dragon describes them in their daily routine is cool. I wanted to know how the investigation would go on but the investigation is completely lost in the details. 

Dragon sets his world (which is 80 years from now) but it's quite the same world I must say except for the religious part of course. USA are now governed by pagans, people rejected all religions, which is difficult to accept knowing it's set in less than 80 years. I mean, some people in the books don't know nothing about religion... have they killed all the old people? That's not believable. Maybe he should have set his world in a future more distant. 

I didn't like reading whole paragraph about the way people dress (mostly when they dress like nowadays bare a few change) or paragraph about the way people behave (which is mostly like nowadays one more time). For example, everyone has an e-pad and spend time reading his message including while discussing with someone else. Does it not remember you something? 

In a nutshell

Dragon's book is the first in a series to come so obviously he needs to set the decor. Elmore Leonard, one of the finest author of crime fiction, wrote his 10 rules for writers. One of them is not to drown the reader in descriptions of characters, places and objects. An advice that Dragon did not follow unfortunately. It's not that it's bad, it's that it's too much. So I won't give a rate but I won't recommend it unless you're really fond of religion and plot. In that case, you should really like it!

Clean Burn

de Karen Sandler

Exhibit A - 2013 (Angry Robot)

304 page - 16.99 $

ARC

En français ici

I got this book through Netgalley and more specifically thanks to Exhibit A (A for Arson!) A new branch of Angry Robot (excellent publisher and guarantee of quality!). I wanted to discover this author and her heroine, a newcomer in the world of crime fiction.

Synopsis

“No child should ever stay missing…”

Wry, smart, tough private eye Janelle Watkins swore off investigating child abductions four years ago, when she left the San Francisco PD.

But when two clients with missing children beg for her help, Janelle can’t say no. Even though it means returning to the scene of her nightmares – her hometown of Greenville.

Forced to enlist the help of her ex-partner and ex-lover, Greenville County Sheriff Ken Heinz, Janelle soon finds herself playing with fire in more than one way, and in a race against the clock to find the missing children before it’s too late.

If Janet Evanovich and the Cohen Brothers ever sat down to collaborate on a story, then this is exactly the kind of incredible novel they might come up with – one full of twists and turns and memorable characters…

Isn’t it about time you met the unforgettable Janelle Watkins?

What I think of it

An excellent first crime fiction - because Sandler is a prolix author in other kind of book - with a heroine with multiple injuries and flaws, but very endearing.

About the characters: Janelle Watkins, ex-cop, private detective, tortured (in every sense of the word) by his past. A heroine not too girly nor too tomboy, a nice mix - which is not always the case for female detectives or cops, I must say. There is also Ken Heinz, ex-partner (in every sense of the word), honest, straightforward and sincere. Two characters very sympathetic to follow. Then there is a lot of secondary characters, well thought out, which gives the impression of being part of the town and to know its inhabitants.

The narrative. Two parallel investigations, one on fire and the other on child abductions bring two former partners together again. The pace does not falter, either because a new lead opens to find the children or because another fire raged. We are taken by the adventures to a burning final (in every sense of the word!)

The author knows how to transcribe Janelle's demons and her worries. We are really feeling her emotions - and they are not all pleasant! - which leads us to understand her reactions - and they are not all pleasant either! I suspected several different people and many times the right one, but I was never really sure until the end. Latter (but not the least in my case), the humor - often cynical - is very well distilled through the story, which makes it more enjoyable to read.

In a nutshell

A very good first crime fiction by Karen Sandler. A heroine to love, despite her shortcomings (or perhaps because of them, I do not know). A story whose rhythm does not slow down. I gave it 4/5!

My thought on closing the book: some great characters!

The Clock Strikes Twelve

by Patricia Wentworth

Open Road Media - 2011

ARC

Miss Silver #7

En français ici

Why that book

It was proposed in the NetGalley catalog in the Mystery & Thrillers category and as I had never read a book by Patricia Wentworth - but I had heard of her - I took the opportunity to discover this author and especially her heroine Miss Silver. Thanks Open Road Media for this book!

Synopsis

Miss Silver investigates the murder of a great British industrialist. 

Though they share a manor house, the Paradines are not close, and their patriarch does nothing to discourage the petty jealousies that divide wealthy families. A cold figure, James Paradine prefers work to his relations, but on New Year’s Eve he convenes the household. Valuable plans have been stolen from his office, and only one person could be to blame. He knows the culprit’s name, and gives the thief until midnight to come forward. By midnight, James Paradine is dead.

Was it the thief who killed him, or could it have been someone else, acting on different motives entirely? The local constables are baffled, and it is left to prim detective Maud Silver to out the murderer.

What I think of it

I confess to having a soft spot for GA novels, even if they are not the ones I read the most. My first steps in the world of investigation were done with Agatha Christie - Poirot especially, but also Miss Marple - and I find and enjoy here the same spirit and the same kind of character.

Talking characters, Miss Silver is a very nice old lady despite her very schoolteacher side - a very useful side however to get people talking. She is a true romantic judging by her penchant to help lovers. I like the fact that Miss Silver is knitting when she wants to question a person, it puts people at ease and gives them the impression they're having a mundane discussion even though she worms the truth out of them! As for the other characters, they are very well written, briefly described but very realistic, even if they are sometimes on the edge of caricature (especially the constables). 

Like any good Golden Age novel, the decor is very cheesy, very... red. Gold decorations, curtains and all that ostentation give a decor in which I won't live but, for me, it's like a guilty pleasure: yes, I love these old-fashioned decor! The bombastic and pompous relations are also a strong point of these novels and  Wentworth plays excellently this card. The strength of this book is the impression that one has to be in the house, to live this mystery at the heart of the investigation, to be part of the family. If you like Downton Abbey (ah... the decor, the famous British phlegm and the formal relationships ...), you'll love this book. 

As to the investigation itself, it is a classic whodunit. Namely, you can discover the culprit for yourself because the clues are revealed throughout the investigation. There is therefore no great surprise at the end - unless taken in the pleasure of the story, you have forgotten to guess! But what's the purpose of a thriller if we know the end before the end? But simply, dear reader, because the pleasure is not ONLY in the discovery of the culprit - even if it's always enjoyable to have found whodunit! - but in the relationships between the characters, in the humor distilled in the book, in the background, in social conventions, dialogues and characters. To read such a novel, it's like looking through the hole in the little mouse's house and see how the investigation is going, it's to be at the heart of the action without actually being in it and have the chance to find the culprit before Miss Silver - and that part is not won!

In a nutshell 

A great book, very well written with engaging characters. Miss Silver is unquestionably a "armchair detective" to know. I recommend this book for anyone who wants to spend a little time in good company and, as icing on the cake, the chance to find a culprit by yourself ... from your chair (who says that Miss Silver does not sleep in you?) I've given it 4/5 on Goodreads.