Before I Go to Sleep

by S. J. Watson

HarperCollins Publishers Ltd (6 juin 2011)

359 pages - 21.99 $

En français ici

I did not know this author before I realized that a lot of people talk about him on Twitter. By dint of seeing rave reviews (especially in French by the way) and after discovering that he had won the 2012 SNCF polar prize, I wanted to read this famous first novel.

Synospis

Christine wakes up every morning in an unfamiliar bed with an unfamiliar man.

She looks in the mirror and sees an unfamiliar, middle-aged face. And every morning, the man she has woken up with must explain that he is Ben, he is her husband, she is forty-seven years old, and a terrible accident two decades earlier decimated her ability to form new memories.

But it’s the phone call from a Dr. Nash, a neurologist who claims to be working with Christine without her husband’s knowledge, that directs her to her journal, hidden in the back of her closet. For the past few weeks, Christine has been recording her daily activities -- tearful mornings with Ben, sessions with Dr. Nash, flashes of scenes from her former life -- and rereading past entries, relearning the facts of her life as retold by the husband she is completely dependent upon. As the entries build up, Christine asks many questions. What was life like before the accident? Why did she and Ben never have a child? What has happened to Christine’s best friend? And what exactly was the horrific accident that caused such a profound loss of memory?

Every day, Christine must begin again the reconstruction of her past. And the closer she gets to the truth, the more unbelievable it seems.

What I think of it

A pure psychological thriller (which I must admit is less to my taste, especially the psychological side ...) with a fluidity in the text. We inch in the story and the more we advance the more the suspense and tension build up to an end - although a little predictable - nonetheless very good.

At first I was scared to read the same thing constantly, as Christine forget all her days overnights. I thought that this would be yet another story of butterfly effect, seen and reviewed, but I was pleasantly surprised, because Watson arrives to help us understand the anguish of a woman who wakes up every morning not knowing who is man beside her, without telling us the same thing. He adds every day a detail, a fact, an anecdote that allows us to understand the story of Christine, almost at the same time (almost because as we do not forget ... we - almost - are one step ahead anyway)!

The main character, Christine, is very well written, not too hysterical despite her condition, not too naive either, rather she is an intelligent woman who is looking for answers to her story without blindly believing what people tell her. The relationships between the characters are very realistic, there are no frills. I was really surprised to know that the author is a man considering how he writes and the accuracy in the transcription of the feelings and thoughts of Christine: there is a real feminine sensibility in the writing, which made me think that the author is a woman.

In a nutshell

Amateurs of psychological thriller, this book is for you! It fully deserves its price and for a first novel, S. J. Watson hits hard, it must be said. I give it a 3/5, mainly because I have a harder time hanging on with psychological thrillers.

My thoughts on closing the book: by Jove, I do not like this kind of ending!

Never Saw It Coming

by Lindwood Barclay

Doubleday Canada - 2011

233 pages - 1,99$

Ebook

Mysteries et thrillers

En français ici

Why this book

I've met the author at the QuebeCrime festival last October and I thought he was really cool. He has a lot of humour and knows how to keep his audience alived so I guessed he can do the same with his books. 

Synopsis

Keisha Ceylon is a psychic. At least, that's what she tells people. She watches the news for stories of missing people, then waits a few days and goes to see the family. She tells them she’s had a vision and that she may know where their missing loved one is—for a price, of course. 

Keisha's latest mark is Wendell Garfield, whose wife disappeared a week ago. She's seen him on TV, pleading for his wife to come home, or for whoever took her to let her go. Keisha tells Wendell her vision of what might have happened. Unluckily for Keisha, her vision turns out to be alarmingly close to the truth. As she wades deeper into the mystery, Keisha inadvertently finds herself caught in a web of suspicion and violence that’s much more complicated than she first thought—and which may end up with her own disappearance… 

Also includes a preview of Linwood Barclay’s newest thriller, Trust Your Eyes

What I think of it

A book that will make you forget how late it is. This novel is an expanded version of Clouded Vision and some criticize the fact that the book still looks like a short story. But as a person who sees the glass half full rather than half empty, I think that's what makes its charm. There is no need to always read books that take a month to read. There are so many complicated novels for which we need to focus to remember different characters or different plots. If books were always complex, I would find it boring. Sometimes after a hard, complex or difficult on the emotional side, I find it relaxing to read a more enjoyable and easy to read book. Never Saw It Coming is that kind of book.

Certainly, it is fast to read, but the fact remains that the tone is one of the great thrillers I like: sometimes cynical, often funny, very colorful and with a relentless pace. The characters are well drawn, the story well done.

The story? This is the story of the biter bit, a spinning wheel. We know quickly who is the culprit, but the story does not end there, since it is ultimately more about morality and what we would do in the same situation. There is a great power of questioning in this book: what would I have done if I were Keisha? Would I have done the same, better or worse? This spinning wheel brings back in some characters we thought we'll no longer see. There are a coming and going of various characters in the book, which makes it dynamic.

In a nutshell

This novel asks questions and makes you ask about your values, your decision and that, in some 233 pages. A book that reads quickly, a bit like a short story but that will appeal to readers of thrillers who love dark and funny crime fiction.

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.

The Last Good Man

by A. J. Kazinski

Scribner; Reprint edition (March 6, 2012)

480 pages - 16 $

En français ici

Why this book

It was part of the books I purchased with my gift card (birthday) and of the authors that I do not know. I took this book 1) because the story seemed good and 2) because he was awarded the 2012 selection of readers.

Synopsis

In Jewish scripture, there is a legend: There are thirty-six righteous people on earth. The thirty-six protect us. Without them, humanity would perish. But the thirty-six do not know they are the chosen ones.

In Beijing, a monk collapses in his chamber, dead. A fiery mark—a tattoo? a burn?—spreads across his back and down his spine. In Mumbai, a beloved economist, a man who served the poor, dies suddenly. His corpse reveals the same symbol. Similar deaths are reported around the world—the victims all humanitarians, all with the same death mark. In Venice, an enterprising Italian policeman links the deaths, tracing the evidence. Who is killing good people around the world?

In Copenhagen, police are preparing for a world climate summit when they receive the Interpol alert. The task falls to veteran detective Niels Bentzon: Find the “good people” of Denmark and warn them. But Bentzon is a man who is trained to see the worst in humanity, not the good. One by one, people are crossed off his list. He senses their secrets and wrongdoings.

Just as Bentzon is ready to give up, he meets Hannah Lund, a brilliant astrophysicist mourning the death of her son and the implosion of her marriage. With Hannah’s help, Bentzon begins to piece together the puzzle of these far-flung deaths. A pattern emerges. It is, they realize, a perfectly executed plan of murder. There have been thirty-four deaths—two more to come if the legend is true. According to the pattern, Bentzon and Hannah can predict the time and place of the final two murders. The deaths will occur in Venice and Copenhagen. And the time is now.

What I think

Not much really! The plot is good, the idea interesting enough, the fact that they insert a religious plot (a bit like Da Vinci, it must be said) is promising - and I like thrillers that offer a share of mystical or religious  plot. So why not more excitement for this book? Because in my opinion, a good half of the book should not exist! The two authors - yes, there are two authors, provide detailed information to ALL information (really any info, even less useful). So we get lost in a lot of data however interesting by themselves (but hey, I'm not reading an essay, but a thriller!) It was not until halfway through the book that a little action happens (and I do love a bit of action in thriller) There is a subplot with an Arab terrorist who has no connection with the main plot, thus completely useless, but that takes a lot of pages (at the beginning), there is a subplot with an international event in Copenhagen and another one in Venice, but of no use, since at no time did we feel a danger on that side. And at the end of the book we still do not know why good men are killed (which sucks a bit in a polar, right?). As for the perpetrator, how to say: do not push granny in the nettles?

Regarding the characters, Tommaso di Barbara and Niels Bentzon are friendly, it's true, but really seem to have problems with interactions as dialogues are listless. As for the scientific part, it's too present: one awash in theories and explanations - to the point that I ended up skipping whole sections of chapters to try to find the plot and action again. In addition, the same information comes back regularly in the novel and with all explanations not needed. I think the most horrifying passage is the chapter where Hannah, the astrophysicist, returns to her place of work. The mention of the name of the creator of the institute (Niels Bohr) comes so often that I wondered at one point if the authors were trying to burn us his name in the head!

In a nutshell

No, I'm not particularly excited about this book I could not wait to finish! However, if you like religion, if you believe in God or if you like tons of detailed information, do not hesitate! For the others, some books featured on this blog will surely seduce you: try the archives or  list by author here. (For example, I read the first chapter of Never saw it coming from Lindwood Barclays and it's already very good !)

My thought on closing the book : Pfff the end is botched and too easy. A pity, it could have been so good!

I gave it 2/5. 

The 100

In the list of 100 books to read, I had already read several of them even before I started the challenge to read some. And how is it then? Elementary my dear reader, I went to school in France where they give you the obligation chance to read classics of French literature. As for the English novels, it was what I read before I discovered thrillers, crime fiction and other wonders of fantasy!

Here in a single column, five books I've read some time ago, but the memory remains indelible. That makes me up to 9 books out of 100, pfff fortunately Et1000livres has read some of them too (in French)!

The great expectations Charles Dickens

Synopsis

One of the finest novels by iconic British author Charles Dickens, this Victorian tale follows the good-natured orphan Pip as he makes his way through life. As a boy, Pip crosses paths with a convict named Magwitch, a man who will heavily influence Pip’s adulthood. Meanwhile, the earnest young man falls for the beautiful Estella, the adoptive daughter of the affluent and eccentric Miss Havisham. Widely considered to be Dickens's last great book, the story is steeped in romance and features the writer's familiar themes of crime, punishment, and societal struggle.

What I think

Dickens is the author who has made me loved English literature (although I read it in French at the time). Do not miss the chance to discover and read his novels. His descriptions of the English society of the time, the way to make so alived, endearing or repulsive characters, the relationships between the characters so well made and the humor on the edge of cynicism at times make it a very pleasant author to read.

Wuthering Heights Emily Brontë

Synopsis

Les Hauts de Wuthering Heights is land windswept north. A family lived there, happy, when a young gypsy attracted misfortune. Mr. Earnshaw adopted Heathcliff and loved him. But his children have despised him. Hiding his love for Catherine, the daughter of his benefactor, Heathcliff is preparing a diabolical revenge. He appropriates the family fortune and reduces the heirs into slavery. The curse will weigh on all the descendants until the day when the daughter of Catherine loves to turn a miserable and rough man.

What I think

This is a very dark novel. Emily Brontë wrote by inventing everything, including the powerful emotions of passion and hate that she had never experienced! A tortured reading that one has to read in his life, but that might not joined all readers. I confess to having more trouble with this type of novel, too tragic, too dark too depressed? for me with a bit too much of description of the boring landscape. 

Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen

Synopsis

At Longbourn, a small village in Hertfordshire, Mrs. Bennet, pastor's wife, is determined to marry off her five daughters to ensure their future. When a rich young man rents the neighboring area of ​​Netherfield, she strongly hopes that her daughters will please him and makes every effort to achieve its purposes. Elizabeth wryly observes the machinations of her mother. If she enjoys the charming Mr. Bingley, she is first angered by the dismissive behavior proud Mr Darcy.

What I think

In the great vein of English novels, it is a book to read! It has the advantage of combining romance and humor, making it a light and enjoyable book. I loved to follow the sisters in their search for husband, Mrs. Bennet deeply shocked and annoyed me by her narrow-minded side but Mr. Bennet made me laugh. In short, a family we love to follow. Do not forget Mr Darcy we learn to know through Elisabeth (which starts badly before it finishes well!) A true masterpiece once again on English society, its morals and conceived thoughs, its requirements and hierarchy, all sprinkled with dashes of humor and spirit.

Goriot Honore de Balzac

Synopsis

A penniless student Eugene Rastignac goes to Paris where he lives in a shabby board, meeting Goriot a merchant ruined by his daughters who despise him.

What I think

The rounded characters, the description of Parisian life, of power and of the pursuit of power by certain characters plunge us into the Paris of Balzac forcefully. We hate father Goriot's girls, we pity the poor father who loves his daughters too much and we observe with despise how Rastignac is influenced by the taste of power. In short, we feel intense emotions. Balzac is a little bit the Dickens of France, but less intense. No caustic humor or cynicism, but a cold description, making it feel more important the human and financial misery. In other words, if you liked books such as Wuthering Heights and The Red and the Black, you'll love this book!

The Red and the Black Stendhal

Synospis

M. de Renal, mayor and notable, takes the young Julien Sorel in his service. That son of a carpenter knows Latin and will be a perfect tutor for his two son. But the young man is not satisfied with his lot, he dreams of freedom, equality, admires Napoleon and despises people of high society. His ambition led him to woo Madame de Renal, a dedicated and naive wife. But both get caught up in their passion, going against the rules of society.

What I think

This book was a difficult one to read for me, mainly because it speaks a little too much of the romantic relationships of Julien Sorel. Said Sorel I struggled to appreciated - what with his contempt. (Yeah, but you loved Pride and Prejudice have you not?) Yes, dear reader, but where Austen puts humor, Stendhal puts reasoning, psychology and drama. So who like sad and tragic stories: treat yourself! This book is for you. For those who like lighter novels, um ... not so sure!

Madame Bovary 1/100

by Gustave Flaubert (Lydia Davis translator)

Viking Adult; First Edition edition (September 23, 2010)

384 pages - 27.95 $

En français ici

Why that book

Because one day I discovered with delight some sites where you can read the "old" books and by old, I mean those fallen into the public domain. I therefore told me "Well, I could took the opportunity to read classics, just to see if I want to have them in my library?" This is how I read Madame Bovary (before I bought it cause in truth I love having book on my shelves!) and also because you have to admit, this is a book that must be read once in one's life and it joined my literary  quest for eclecticism with the ulterior goal of having books of literature called "noble" or "white" on my bookshelf next to my many thrillers and fantasy books.

It's also a part of the 100 which therefore left me with 99 others to read!

Synopsis

Charles Bovary, a country doctor, remarried with young Emma Rouault, daughter of a rich farmer in a convent in Normandy.

Fed with romantic novels, she quickly becomes bored with her mediocre and devoted husband and among the middle-class people of her town. Dreaming of a more exciting life, she abandons her maternal role and gives herself to lovers who leave her equally dissatisfied. Emma carries within her the seeds of disease that will prevail: the "bovarysm" ...

What I think of it

Er ... in fact, I really moderately liked it. I do not deny the quality of the writing and vivid descriptions. What I did not like was Emma (which is unfortunate given that the novel revolves around her). It seems that I'm not quite "romantic" enough cause Bovarysm bothers me deeply. I endured with difficulty what I considered like procrastination and whims of young madcap from Emma. That said - and despite my intense desire to slap her by times - the book is a perfect portrait of that kind of inhibited society stuck in its moral precepts.

In a nutshell

A novel to read - if only because it is part of the list ... - or just because it's a classic and the writing is beautiful and transcribes that time very well.

Good to know

The novel caused a scandal at the time. Just think, an author who dares to make a girl of good family raised in a convent a young unfaithful and dissatisfied wife. Flaubert almost end up in jail for making a too realistic portrayal of society, but he was acquitted. Unknowingly he created the concept of Bovarysm that is, according to Lettre.org, a "state of dissatisfaction, emotionally and socially, which occurs especially in certain neurotic young women and results in excessive and vain ambitions, a leak in the imaginary and the romantic "(http://www.lettres.org/files/bovarysme.html).

Good to know 2: the idea for the novel came to him from a real piece of news: the second wife of a doctor (Eugène Delamare) committed suicide after cheating and ruining her husband who in turn commit suicide by poisons. (In French : http://www2.unil.ch/unicom/allez_savoir/as36/pages/5_faits_divers2.html).

The Big Reap

by Chris F. Holm

The Third Book in the Collector Series

Angry Robot - 2013

283 pages - 9.99 $

En français ici 

Why this book

There are some authors you know you'll follow no matter what and Chris F. Holm is one of them. When I saw on Twitter that his latest book what available on Netgalley long before its publication I became a member and I received an Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) that I can review now! I even bought a Kobo to read the book whenever and wherever I want - even if I always said that I'll never buy one of them (guess it tooks me that incentive to change my mind!). So first of all, my thanks to Angy Robot for providing me with The Big Reap - but don't worry fellow readers, I'll give an unbiased review!

Synopsis

Sam Thornton has had many run-ins with his celestial masters, but he’s always been sure of his own actions.

However, when he’s tasked with dispatching the mythical Brethren – a group of former Collectors who have cast off their ties to Hell – is he still working on the side of right?

What I think of it

I loved it! The best of the three books. Holm better controls his characters, his universes and his collector, Sam. 

Speaking of Sam. We feel that he distances himself from his human side: he finds it more and more easy to "wear" a living human, whereas in the first books he sought only corpses (I recall that Sam is a damned soul who can't live by himself, but must have a body). We follow his questioning because he doesn't want to lose his humanity, but we also follow his discoveries about the ease with which he possesses the living. There is an internal struggle between the facilities that brings him a living body (credit cards that work, relatives who do not believe you're dead and scream when they saw you ...) and his intransigence of the beginning when he only sought bodies not to traumatize people and not to risk getting them killed (which is easily done in his occupation). So we learn a little more about what he thinks and feels, about who he is actually!

As for the other characters, it was a pleasure to meet back some of the protagonists of the previous books - I won't give their name in order not to screw the pleasure of discovering who returns - even if they're easily guess (because ultimately there is few people we really want to see again, right?) We also learn a lot about Lilith and her story, which I really enjoyed because it allows a better understanding of her actions and reactions.

Let's talk about the humor, because one thing is for sure, this book is stuffed of it - as in the previous two books, which makes these über cool books to read. There is a certain ferocity and cynicism in the dialogues that make them as funny as addictive - dialogues that are often followed by action and hordes of hemoglobin! The fact that Sam possesses human gives way to spread very funny quips for those who like black humor (which I love).

Finally, the story itself and the action, because this book is full of action. I enjoyed the flashbacks of the first collection of Sam and his introduction by Lilith as a collector because it allows us to see the progress made by Sam who is doing better and better. The flashbacks are found in some places in the text and are so well written that the fact that they cut the story do not interfere at all, on the contrary, because they provide a better knowledge of Sam and Lilith. Some might believe that the act of collecting souls might be a bit deja-vu (in the previous two books) and that it is difficult to make it an interesting concept but Holm yet manages to make a breathless story and not at all boring, because each collecting is different. And action ... Action! By reading this book, I thought several times that it would make a great action movie, a kind of blockbuster that would move!

Finally, the weak point of the book (it has to have one right?) Sam is the only collector in charge of collecting the souls of the Brethrens and then I thought, "but why just him. It's not like Hell has shortage of labor, it does not make sense. Ha ha, I have found a flaw in the story? "And well no, the explanation will be given and all will become clear because, dear reader, Chris F. Holm will not let you down, nor leave anything on the sidelines, you'll have the answers to your questions and more. So, no weak spot? Ha! Yes: the book is too short!

Well, I guess my review is totally subjective after all, cause I really like that book! 

In a nutshell

A real page-turner to devour without moderation! I highly recommend this book if you like urban-fantasy, black humor and action. This is undoubtedly the best in the series and it will probably not be the last (at least I hope). A must read! I give it a 5/5.

My thought on closing the book : Yes! There will be another one! (right?) Oh gosh, that would be something!