The Circle by Bernard Minier

Paperback: 496 pages
Éditeur: Minotaur Books (18 octobre 2016)

What's great when reading a second novel by an author is that you meet back with some characters and you get to know them, they are part of your circle of acquaintances (yes, yes, I made that joke!)

This is the second novel by Bernard Minier I read and I find it even better, though, I must say, I sometimes have a little trouble with the central character, Servaz, as I do not find him very realistic (or, if it is, I never had the opportunity to meet a person who quotes that often Latin or authors, even with my literature teachers!) 

Aside from that, helped by his team (very nice by the way), Servaz returns to the city where he was educated - and where his daughter is studying - for an investigation high in twists and discoveries about his past. One can only hope for a happy ending for Servaz, following the return of his childhood love. You'll come across a circle of student with very darkly dubious intentions and see hovering with a pleasant horror Julian's shade, the great villain from Frozen, Minier's first book. Minier also serves us a scathing critique of the political and academic circles without it turning around (the return of the joke, still not tired of it!). We move from one clue to action without a brake and it never gets boring!

What's the story?

June 2010. In the middle of a World Cup match, Martin Servaz receives a call from a long-lost lover. A few miles away, in the town of Marsac, classics professor Claire Diemar has been brutally murdered.

As if that weren t disturbing enough, Servaz receives a cryptic e-mail indicating that Julian Hirtmann, the most twisted of all serial killers, is back . . . and hitting a little too close to home. With death and chaos surrounding the small university town in southern France, where he was once a student and where his daughter is now enrolled, Servaz must act quickly.

With the help of detectives Ziegler and Esperandieu, Servaz will have to uncover a world of betrayal and depravity to connect the dots between the gruesome murders that keep reopening wounds from his past. Bernard Minier plunges readers once again into a perfectly constructed, dark, and oppressive atmosphere, driven forward by a gripping plot, pushing the limits of the genre."

In a nutshell
A fast reading novel with lots of twists.  A second book even better than the first one. It 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.

Jonatha Strange & Mr Norrel by Susanna Clarke

Mass Market Paperback: 1024 pages
Éditeur: Tor Books; Reprint édition (1 août 2006)


The back cover promised that this book was THE fantasy book to read. A classic. And as the story seemed really cool... I read it.

My first impression was very positive. Clarke has been very successful in creating her universe, her world, her habits, her country and people. You can imagines them, you feel like you know that world, that it's familiar very quickly. 

I liked the notes which told other stories in the story. We learned the legends of this world, their History. This helps to better understand the actions and reactions of the characters and in addition, these stories were often cool. 

Some enthusiastic readers compared Clarke to Dickens and I can see why with some aspects. Her writing has indeed a likeness, it's as delightfully old-fashioned and relations are similarly described. This is what makes the strength of this book. 

Clarke tells well and details are never boring. 

Still, some things are annoying: 

- Strange and Norrell are described as highly intelligent, but at no point do they realize what is happening. They are misled by a fairy, while faires are described as fools... 

- Strange can do things he does not do during the war, we do not know why. Clarke says it's on purpose, OK, but it makes the book a little less credible in my view. 

- The book is very very loooong... There are many descriptions. Sure, it's nice to discover this new world but the atmosphere was there quickly, thanks to Clarke great writing so she did not need to say that much.

- I had to leave the book aside (which I did without pausing) and I had a hard time coming back to it. I was eager to finish and I ignored the latest descriptions because I was too bored. 

- I could not appreciate Norrell. In fact, I did not at all... which is a shame, as it is one of the main characters! And honestly, reading over 1000 pages about a character that you can't stand says a lot about my devotion to like this book! It was not easy and it took Clarke's storytelling talent to get there!

What the story?

At the dawn of the nineteenth century, two very different magicians emerge to change England's history. In the year 1806, with the Napoleonic Wars raging on land and sea, most people believe magic to be long dead in England-until the reclusive Mr Norrell reveals his powers, and becomes a celebrity overnight.

Soon, another practicing magician comes forth: the young, handsome, and daring Jonathan Strange. He becomes Norrell's student, and they join forces in the war against France. But Strange is increasingly drawn to the wildest, most perilous forms of magic, straining his partnership with Norrell, and putting at risk everything else he holds dear.

In a nutshell

A book that takes you by the hand and walk you in a fantasy world very realistic. A bit too long for my taste and a character as unsympathetic as possible. It is a 3/5 for me.

An evil mind by Chris Carter

Series: A Robert Hunter Thriller
Mass Market Paperback: 496 pages
Publisher: Pocket Books; Reissue edition (September 27, 2016)

Suffice to say that the author has plenty experience in the field of criminal beheviour... to understand that this book (and the series it seems, although I haven't read all the books) has a touch of truth that makes it very realistic!

Carter has written a book that'll grip you and never let you down from the beginning till the end. And I shall add... till the end of each chapter as he instills that kind of mini-cliffanghers that make it so hard to close your book to go to work (cause, of course, you won't close it for something as trivial as sleep!)

I never read anything by Carter, so I didn't know Hunter, his character. But a thing is certain, he can wrote some very interesting and believable characters! I really liked Hunter and I feel like reading his other books to better know him. The FBI team was great too and Folter, the evil minds, is so manipulative and sick, it's a pleasure. 

For the more septic of you, just read the first chapter... you'll see how good Carter is and what kind of read you'll envoy! And for those of you who like shows like Criminal minds ou film like Silence of the Lambs, just go for it! But beware, that book is not for the faint hearted... some description are gruesomes.

What's the story?

A freak accident in rural Wyoming leads the sheriff’s department to arrest a man for a possible double homicide, but further investigations suggest a much more horrifying discovery—a serial killer who has been kidnapping, torturing, and mutilating victims all over the United States for at least twenty-five years.

The suspect claims he is a pawn in a huge labyrinth of lies and deception—but can he be believed?

The case is immediately handed over to the FBI, but this time they’re forced to ask for outside help. Ex-criminal behavior psychologist and lead detective with the Ultra Violent Crime Unit of the LAPD Robert Hunter is asked to run a series of interviews with the apprehended man.

These interviews begin to reveal terrifying secrets that no one could have foreseen, including the real identity of a killer so elusive that no one, not even the FBI, had any idea he existed—until now...

In a nutshell

A great book, a sick criminal, some twists you'll never see. It's a 5/5 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.