The Chimera Vector by Nathan M. Farrugia

(Fifth Column #1)
362 pages - 24.17
Momentum (1 mai 2012)

Once is not custom, it is the author who suggested I read his book! And it fell really well, because I had put his book in my TBR on Goodreads (hehe). And besides, Nathan M. Farrugia is Australian and I must say, I'm partial to the authors of this country, as for now, I have loved everything I've read by them.

Oh! And do not miss Nathan's interview, soon to be published on my blog!

The blurb

The Fifth Column: the world’s most powerful and secretive organization. They run our militaries. They run our governments. They run our terrorist cells.

Recruited as a child, Sophia is a deniable operative for the Fifth Column. Like all operatives, Sophia’s DNA has been altered to augment her senses and her mind is splintered into programmed subsets.

On a routine mission in Iran something goes catastrophically wrong. Bugs are beginning to appear in Sophia’s programming and the mission spins out of control.

High-speed chases, gun fights, helicopter battles, immortal psychopaths, super soldiers and mutant abilities are all in the mix in this edge-of-your-seat action-packed techno-thriller.

Perfect for fans of Matthew Reilly, THE CHIMERA VECTOR melds sci-fi with sizzling espionage action.

What's good in that book?

Its action! This book is full of adrenaline, fight scenes and twists. I was super surprised by the quality of the descriptions of battle scenes, until I learned a bit more about the author. I discovered that Nathan M. Farrugia pushes the writing care to go live very strong adrenaline situations. He participates in survival camps, climbs over the rooftops of Russia, struggle to stay free in hyper realistic situation. In short, when he describes the action, he does it from memory, because he lived these situations. This gives you an idea of ​​what is the big highlight of this author.

I also appreciated seeing a male author giving a great part of his book to the women: his heroine is surrounded by a cohort of women all brighter and stronger than each other. So no worries for you gentlemen, this is not a book about a band of vengeful and castrating Amazons: there are also men (phew, I thought for a moment that I would lose you there guys!) The truth is that Sophia teams up with two guys, she finds herself isolated from her group, she must form another one and she teams herself with other women (and others guys) . Still, for us girls, it's nice to see an author take the gamble to choose a women's team - it's almost avant-garde and when reading his book, I think that producers of video games could be inspired by him to create strong female characters.

Regarding the story, some will enjoy the hyper-techno side, others the scientific side (and here I confess I have not understand everything), so the geeks will be delighted. For the non-geeks, there is still that now famous action that will appeal to lovers of adrenaline, weapons, helicopters and other military gadgets (top secret of course the gadgets!) The only thing that slightly disturbed me is the many changes of tactics from the characters that change their tune more quickly than we have time to read it. So, admittedly, this brings punch to the story, but there could have been a little less and still make a great book.

In a nutshell

A book one reads in one sitting, super well written action scenes and interesting characters, it's a 4/5 for me.

Butterfly Kills by Brenda Chapman

A Stonechild and Rouleau Mystery
376 pages - Dundurn (Jan. 10 2015)
Paperback - 10.82 $

Well it's been a while since I had read a novel by a Canadian author set in Canada! I must say that I found it very nice, that feeling of familiarity because I live in the same country! And beware: there are two Brenda Chapman: The first lives in Canada, author of thriller, the second in the USA. The first has written for several years thriller, the second stands in animated films.


The blurb

Two separate crimes, two tragic outcomes.

Jacques Rouleau has moved to Kingston to look after his father and take up the position of head of the town’s Criminal Investigations Division. One hot week in late September, university student Leah Sampson is murdered in her apartment. In another corner of the city, Della Munroe is raped by her husband. At first the crimes appear unrelated, but as Sergeant Rouleau and his new team of officers dig into the women’s pasts, they discover unsettling coincidences. When Kala Stonechild, one of Rouleau’s former officers from Ottawa, suddenly appears in Kingston, Rouleau enlists her to help.

Stonechild isn’t sure if she wants to stay in Kingston, but agrees to help Rouleau in the short term. While she struggles with trying to decide if she can make a life in this new town, a ghost from her past starts to haunt her.

As the detectives delve deeper into the cases, it seems more questions pop up than answers. Who murdered Leah Sampson? And why does Della Monroe’s name keep showing up in the murder investigation? Both women were hiding secrets that have unleashed a string of violence. Stonechild and Rouleau race to discover the truth before the violence rips more families apart.

What's good in this book?

It will make you want to move to live in Kingston! It won't be a surprise to some, but I'm not a big fan of description (and even less landscapes!) In Butterfly Kills, descriptions are not ubiquitous, but so effective that they allow you to understand where the characters are located or feel their emotions (because yes, backwash soothe!) and I have to say that it is so well done that I really felt like buying a house by the lake!

The characters are well-written, engaging and each different. I also really liked the fact that Kala is a Native person, because I rarely came across a book where one of the characters is and that I think it's nice to put them ahead. Especially as Kala is very well written, with this mix of calm, wisdom and this little indomitable side that suits her well. Rouleau is just as friendly and we appreciate the relationships he establishes with his new colleagues (including two slackers so realistic that one recognizes in them some people one already run into...)

The plots are well written, even if one can understand the reason behind all that violence. Chapman brings her clues bit by bit and everything is played out in interpersonal relationships between the protagonists.

In a nutshell

A great discovery for me that makes me want to read other books by Brenda Chapman and follow Rouleau's team. This is a 4/5 for me.

Disclaimer: An e-galley of this title was provided to me by the publisher. No review was promised and the above is an unbiased review of the novel.

Angel of the Abyss by Ed Kurtz

DarkFuse; 1 edition (Dec 2 2014)

322 pages - 19.40 $

Honestly, I chose this book because the synospis was vaguely reminiscent of one of Franck Thilliez's book, Syndrome E, in which a film makes people blind and generates a lot of dead bodies. I wanted to see how Ed Kurtz was going to treat the subject, if the story was more or less the same, or if it would be really different.

The blurb

When Graham Woodard is hired to restore part of a previously lost silent horror film—Angel of the Abyss—the last thing he expects is the first in a series of murders clearly meant to keep it lost.

With one-time friend Jake Maitland in tow, the two must now navigate the treacherous enigma that is the lost film, while piecing together the story of the film’s ill-fated starlet, Grace Baron, who vanished in 1926. The closer they get to the truth, the more blood is spilled, and it soon becomes apparent that there is much more to the lost film than anyone expected, as there are still forces that will stop at nothing to keep it and its star buried. The darkness the strange film conjured all those years ago has come alive again with its discovery, and now everyone from Graham’s own estranged ex-wife to the LAPD is getting involved.

And the body count is growing.

From the burgeoning film studios of 1920s Hollywood to the perilous streets and dark underbelly of modern-day Los Angeles, Angel of the Abyss is a dangerous tapestry of cinema, history and murder, at the center of which stand two men with everything to lose.

What's good about it

Film buffs will be delighted with this novel that gives pride to the cinema and mainly to silent movies. It talks about the premise of talking pictures, Los Angeles and the superficial life of local people, the beginnings of the great Hollywood companies, in short, a real plunge into a passion Ed Kurtz makes us share.

A special feature of the book I liked is that the story is written in several views (so far nothing new you could say), but it's also partially written in the first person for two of the protagonists. Depending on who's physically restricted between Graham and Jake, it's either talking. I admit that the change of "I" surprise me, but the differentiation between the two characters is carefree and easy.

We going from the investigation about the film today to the shooting of the film at the time, which allows us to understand the atmosphere and ultimately the reason for the disappearance of Grace and  the murderous desire to leave the film to oblivion. Both intrigues conclude one another. On one side you will find the scenes of the film and the characters' lives around the film, on the other the two partner in crime (pun intended!) seek to discover the reason behind the two disappearances (Grace and the film).

Some were disappointed by finding out that it's not a horror book (but about a vanished horror film). As for me, I was expecting a mystery and crime fiction and I was not disappointed with the noir Los Angeles atmosphere, the humor and the action too.

In a nutshell

A dark novel about the lies behind Hollywood, two well conducted intrigues and sympathetic characters, it's a 4/5 for me.

Disclaimer: An e-galley of this title was provided to me by the publisher. No review was promised and the above is an unbiased review of the novel