Don't look back

by Karin Fossum

• Inspector Konrad Sejer #2
  Paperback: 324 pages - 13.35 $
  Publisher: Mariner Books (June 1, 2005)
  ISBN-10: 0156031361
  
  
  I bought this book after having heard of it by Sofia Marina (again, a big thank you Marina!) I didn't know this Norwegian author, but I appreciate more and more Scandinavian thrillers. So I thought that I did not risk too much by trying a new author! This book is the third book of my challenge RIP VIII .

Synospis

Don't Look Back heralds the arrival of an exotic new crime series featuring Inspector Sejer, a smart and enigmatic hero, tough but fair. The setting is a small, idyllic village at the foot of Norway's Kollen Mountain, where neighbors know neighbors and children play happily in the streets. But when the body of a teenage girl is found by the lake at the mountaintop, the town's tranquility is shattered forever. Annie was strong, intelligent, and loved by everyone. What went so terribly wrong? Doggedly, yet subtly, Inspector Sejer uncovers layer upon layer of distrust and lies beneath the town's seemingly perfect facade.

Critically acclaimed across Europe, Karin Fossum's Inspector Sejer novels are masterfully constructed, psychologically convincing, and compulsively readable, and are now available in the United States for the first time.

What I think of it 

Although the pace is slower than the thrillers that I love, I enjoyed the human side of this book. The author skillfully depicts us the different characters and especially Konrad Sejer, inspector, widower, who does his best to be a good father, a great grandfather and a dedicated dog owner. Even said dog gets to play a role in this book! This shows the importance given to the characters, relationships between them and their own demons.

The heavy atmosphere, the suspicion and the procedure required to make the investigation give us an addictive atmosphere. Like in English novels which atmosphere is so recognizable and sometimes bombastic, this novel makes us understand the relationships and the way small towns (or villages actually) interact. The isolation, the fact that everyone knows everyone, that it's so difficult to keep to yourselves your little secrets and the very present nature (the forest, the bottomless lake... ), give a very unique atmosphere.

About the pace of the book, despite the lack of action, Karin Fossum managed the feat of making the discovery of the corpse very stressful. Subsequently, the suspects will succeed based upon discoveries, unsaid things and spilling of secrets. I appreciated the smartness of the dialogues, interviews that never seem to be ones, trick questions formulated with precision. Here, nothing is fast, there is no action in each chapter but Konrad who worms truths out of suspects.

In a nutshell

A very good book that I highly recommend especially if you love unique atmosphere, well-constructed dialogues and reason over action. I give it a 4/5.

My thought on closing the book: that was well lead

L'enfant des cimetières

Sire Cédric

Science Fiction - Fantasy

Pocket - 2011

527 pages - $ 13.95

ISBN: 9782266203654 (2266203657)

I can't remember how I discovered this author, probably through fans of Maxime Chattam as both authors give in the fantastic kind... It seems that Sir Cedric is in any case a rising figure in France, so I was happy to discover his book that is my second book in the R.I.P. VIII challenge.

Synopsis

A gravedigger living near a cemetery is taken from a hallucinatory madness and kills his entire family before committing suicide.

A teenager, believing he's chased by shadows, threatens occupants of a hospital with  his weapon and kills Kristel, a painter. David photojournalist - and Kristel's partner - decides to discover the origin of this wave of sordid murders and suicides, which is increasing. Soon he will face the unimaginable...

What I think of it

There's undoubtedly strengths in this novel... but also some weaknesses that have hindered me.

About the strengths, Sire Cedric knows how to generate dizzy spell, anxiety and apprehension among his readers. I have experienced very unpleasant sensations several times while reading passages. I admit I even have hesitated to continue reading the book after some time in the night, because I was not sure of being able to sleep ! Sometimes there is an atmosphere like in Hitchcock's " The Birds": you know from where the danger comes, it's all around, but you do not know when it will attack... and that, that's nerve-racking!

I also liked the characters whose emotions are well transcribed, particularly the mourning of David, who seeks to find the origin of the evil which has taken his partner. Everything is done with subtlety, you feel his grief, his denial of his loss, his need to foresee if only an image of the woman he loves. It's nice to read, despite the pain. As for the anxiety or irrational fears that the other characters experience... it's sufficiently well written that I wanted to look under my bed ! When the young Villeneuve explains what he saw, you feel close to him, you hear him, you're part of his team (a not so winner team in the game of cat and mouse...), you begin to stress. Clearly, this is a strength of the author.

I appreciate that the so imposing cop with so boorish manners is not a caricature of the asshole cop without finesse. Instead Vauvert proves to be able to take into account what the majority of people refuse to believe. He does not necessarily believe in spirits, demons and other supernatural aspects but as he puts it: "What I think does not matter, replied Vauvert, I'm trying to prevent people from dying. That's my job." There is a duality between the scientific evidence and what the victims experience. The fact that the characters do not believe in supernatural phenomenon in principle but seek a logical and technical explanation makes the esoteric side even stronger.

What I dislike about the book concerns two points, probably less important to some people but it bothers me a lot. Very often when it comes to demons, there is sex, or at least some sensuality and this book does not lack it. But the inclusion of children in the sex scenes, THAT, it bothers me. I think it's sick and regrettable. The author is very good to make us feel emotions so if he wanted us to feel a mixture of desire and embarrassment, the fact that there are women and men of all ages who are shadows or rotted corpses in the scene is enough, right?

The second weakness relates to certain shortcuts used by the author to advance the story. Honestly, when do we have seen a person who has coincidentally ALL the ingredients for magical protection? Because frankly, if the devil comes home today, I 'm screwed! Apart from the salt... I have no other ingredients. There are other shortcuts in the book, but fortunately, they are not so numerous. It's just that when reading, I've been saying a few times... Duh! as if it was that easy!

In a nutshell

A novel which reads very quickly, whose plot includes several tracks that come together, well done with some weaknesses. I do not know if I can recommend it, especially because of the children (unacceptable in my case), but it will appeal to fans of the genre. I give it a 3/5.

My thought on closing the book : It's a shame, those small gaps...

Alex

by Pierre Lemaitre

MacLehose Press (June 3, 2014)

352 pages - 12.92 $

ISBN-10: 1623651247

Nouveau sur le blog : pour la version française, cliquez sur l'onglet ci-dessus)

It's thanks to Marina Sofia on Twitter, whose excellent blog is here that I discovered Pierre Lemaitre. No longer living in France, I 'm not really aware of the authors in the hexagon and as I read mostly in English ... it does not help matters. But Marina, she knows these authors and she is a great source of information. So I decided to read Alex after hearing so much about that book from her and read her review here on Crime Fiction Lover (thanks! Marina).

Alex is also my first book of the R.I.P. VIII challenge !

Synopsis

Upon winning the prestigious 2013 Crime Writers Association International Dagger Award, the judges praised Alex by saying, “An original and absorbing ability to leash incredulity in the name of the fictional contract between author and reader . . . A police procedural, a thriller against time, a race between hunted and hunter, and a whydunnit, written from multiple points of view that explore several apparently parallel stories which finally meet.”

Alex Prévost—kidnapped, savagely beaten, suspended from the ceiling of an abandoned warehouse in a tiny wooden cage—is running out of time. Her abductor appears to want only to watch her die. Will hunger, thirst, or the rats get her first?

Apart from a shaky eyewitness report of the abduction, Police Commandant Camille Verhoeven has nothing to go on: no suspect, no leads, and no family or friends anxious to find a missing loved one. The diminutive and brilliant detective knows from bitter experience the urgency of finding the missing woman as quickly as possible—but first he must understand more about her. 

As he uncovers the details of the young woman’s singular history, Camille is forced to acknowledge that the person he seeks is no ordinary victim. She is beautiful, yes, but also extremely tough and resourceful. Before long, saving Alex’s life will be the least of Commandant Verhoeven’s considerable challenges.

What I think

Phew! One thing is sure , this book leaves no one indifferent !

Talking characters. Here we have Alex, victim or executioner? We do not know much about her until the end, and yet we feel for her a range of emotions! Her character is excellently written. She remains a mystery, but she seems fragile, very sure of herself, cold, she seems to suffer. You won't know if you like her or hate her or if you're concerned for her or if you think that she has it coming. I started to love her, then I did not know what to think of her. I wanted to blame Alex, but it was at odds with what I had felt for her before! And at the end! the end is incredible, again a change of context, another way of seeing things, it is even more confusing than it was. Pierre Lemaitre is really good in mixing your feelings! Facing Alex, we have cops: Camille, a (very) small in size, but (very) tough in determination Police commandant, Louis, the distinguished cop and Armand the generous stripper cop (you must read the book to know how that can be!) A trio not trivial, with a strong bond. This book bring some very engaging and realistic characters.

The plot changes along the course of the story, we're looking for a victim, then for a hangman, we're looking for the reason behind all that's happening, we're seeking justice. The characters remain the same but the roles change. The context plays a growing role in the explanation. Everything must be understood and will be... at the end !

Another important point in this book, which deserves to be mentioned because it is quite rare in thrillers. Reading the back cover, I saw the Figaro and Le Monde reviews - two French newspapers - the journalists spoke of a literary novel ... ok. So I started this book with a slight fear: will the bombastic style upstage the plot? Well not at all, on the contrary. The writing is fluid, often funny, tragic, cold and never boring. Indeed the quality of the writing is closer to literary style than thriller style. But you'll find literary flights, as well as slang dialogues, short shock sentences and very long sentences, sometimes only impactful words. It seems that Lemaitre is as strong to play with our feelings as he is to play with words .

In a nutshell

A very nice discovery for me. I loved the story as much as the writing style. I highly recommend this book ! I give it a 4.5/5. 

My thought on closing the book : Oh damn, it serves ... right (you 'll have to read the book to know who!)

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril, VIII

For the first time on my blog, I'm going to participate to a challenge, created by Carl whose blog is here.

En français ici

Carl explains how the challenge was created :  

" Eight years ago I became aware of reading challenges and wanted to start one of my own, hoping to find others who shared my Autumnal predilection for the works of Edgar Allen Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Bram Stoker and other authors contemporary and classic who captured the spirit of gothic literature. All these years later we are still going strong, welcoming September with a time of coming together to share our favorite mysteries, detective stories, horror stories, dark fantasies, and everything in between.

I welcome you to join us. "

The challenge takes place between the 1st of September till the 31 of October. In those autumnal months, what's better than some chilling reads ? The challenge blog is here, where bloggers can put the link to their reviews. 

Here's the different king of readings for that challenge: 

Mystery.

Suspense.

Thriller.

Dark Fantasy.

Gothic.

Horror.

Supernatural.

Two very simple rules : 

1. Have fun reading (and watching).
2. Share that fun with others.

I chose to participate to Peril the first for which you have to : 

Read four books, any length, that you feel fit (the very broad definitions) of R.I.P. literature. It could be King or Conan Doyle, Penny or Poe, Chandler or Collins, Lovecraft or Leroux…or anyone in between.

For those of you that may want to participate but don't feel like reading four books, suffice to know that there are others challenge (read two books, read one book, watch a film or a series...) Isn't that great ?

As I have a lot of books in my TBR (like a lot really...) here's the ones I decided to read:

I'm sure to begin with Alex by Pierre Lemaitre (as I've already began the book !) 

L'enfant des cimetière by Cédric Sire (another French one) that  looks really dark and the kind to put in a fantastic gothic thriller... I don't think I'll be bored with this one! 

Then a book by Chris F. Holm (yay!) Dead Letters, a collection of short stories (which is a challenge by itself as I don't read short story normally... which proves how much I love his work!)

And Don't look back by Karin Fossum, a Norwegian author I never read but of whom I heard a lot of excellent things! 

And voilà ! With that my autumn should be thrilling! That's a period of time when I enjoy the most rainy days!

---

Edit : I wanted to read Dead Letters by Chris F. Holm but the size of the text was too small for my mini ebook so I changed for The Clearing by Dan Newman

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.