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.

The Burning by Jane Casey

Maeve Kerrigan Novels

Minotaur Books; Reprint edition (May 8 2012)

368 pages - 13.86 $

It's been a while since I have this book in my To Be Read pile (TBR) on Netgalley and I finally decided to start it... and I finished it in a few days! I admit that the romantic side in a detective series bothers me, it's not my kind of reading but ultimately I do not regret it. 

The blurb

In this first in Casey’s thrilling, romantic mystery series for adults, meet Detective Constables Maeve Kerrigan and Rob Langton 

The Burning Man. It’s the name the media has given a brutal murderer who has beaten four young women to death before setting their bodies ablaze in secluded areas of London’s parks. And now there’s a fifth.

Maeve Kerrigan is an ambitious detective constable, keen to make her mark on the murder task force. Her male colleagues believe Maeve’s empathy makes her weak, but the more she learns about the latest victim, Rebecca Haworth, from her grieving friends and family, the more determined Maeve becomes to bring her murderer to justice. But how do you catch a killer no one has seen when so much of the evidence has gone up in smoke?

Maeve’s frenetic hunt for a killer in Jane Casey’s gripping series debut will entrance even the most jaded suspense readers.

What's good in that book

I should say at once that once again, the blurb provided by the publisher does not really stick to the story! (I wonder if the person who writes the blurb actually reads the books...) 

Maeve investigate the fifth victim because 1) her boss asked her to and 2) because they have found evidences that differ from the other murders. Point. If her male colleagues make fun of her, it's not because she has empathy for the victim but because she is a woman in a man's world. Point (bis). This topic is rather well treated in fact, Maeve having learned to defend herself and to respond to attacks from her colleagues which changes from some of the other novels. Here, the author does not dwell on machismo, gender relations and sexual harassment at work with long speeches. She treats the subject as a fact and shows the difficulties faced by Maeve through sometimes rough dialogues! 

Maeve investigate the latest victim, whose body we discovered early in the book. In view of certain elements, the detectives want to know if the victim is one of the Burning Man or not. Throughout the story, we thus learn more about Rebecca, her friends, her family, her past. The other four victims, meanwhile, are only vaguely described. I must say that I knew before the end who killed Rebecca (and yet, I never try to know in advance, because I like to be surprised) (for those who like to rack their brain to find the culprit, it can be frustrating). The story is well done, the results of the investigation are revealed as you go. There is a bit of luck in the discovery of the culprit, a little action, some wounded, in short, you do not get bored. 

If you worry about the romantic part of the book, it's very light, so this is not a problem for those who do not like affectations. The author puts a lot of humor in the relationships, which makes the story less romantic but more real. Good to know also, the book is mainly narrated throught the point of view of Maeve and Louise, Rebecca's best friend. The chapters are identified, so there is no possibility of confusing the characters which is fine because the author has not quite managed to create different voices for the two women (but I may be biased after reading Lauren Beukes, champion of the characterization).

In a nutshell

Some likable characters, a story well done, realistic dialogues and a bit of humor, it's a 3.5 / 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.

The Frozen Dead by Bernard Minier

St. Martin's Press

Minotaur Books; Reprint edition (Aug. 12 2014)

482 pages - 29.41 $

Frozen is the first novel by a former worker in the French customs administration. His book was widely praised by the press when released in France in 2011 and he released a second book Le Cercle in 2012 in which me meet back with the same character, Servaz a literate and sensitive cop.

The blurb

A suspenseful and chilling murder mystery set in a high-security asylum for the criminally insane and the snowy mountains of the French Pyrenees

The first victim is a horse: its headless, flayed body hangs suspended from the edge of a frozen cliff. On the same day as the gruesome discovery takes place, Diane Berg, a young psychiatrist starts her first job at a high security asylum for the criminally insane, just a few miles away. She is baffled by the slightly unorthodox methods the asylums's director uses, and then greatly alarmed when she realizes that drugs are disappearing from within the fortified institution while someone seems to be slipping out at night. 

Commandant Martin Servaz, a charismatic, Toulouse city cop fond of quoting Latin, can’t believe he has been called out over the death of an animal. But there is something disturbing about this crime that he cannot ignore. Then DNA from one of the most notorious inmates of the asylum, a highly intelligent former prosecutor who is accused of killing and raping several women, is found on the corpse... and a few days later the first human murder takes place. 

Servaz and his colleague, the mysterious Irene Ziegler, must use all their skill to solve the terrifying mystery, in The Frozen Dead by Bernard Minier.

What's good about it ?

The atmosphere is really oppressive. Everything is cold, white (because of the snow) or gray or ugly. The suspects include prisoners locked up in an asylum for the most horrific killers. There are a lot of strange people. This creates a rather morbid and creepy feel it must be said. In my case, it was too much. Each time a character takes the road to the asylum or the place of the first crime we're entitled to the overwhelming feelings of that character - sinister course - about the surrounding nature, the road and his feeling of discomfort or fear. So, admittedly, it helps to feel the sensation of discomfort. Yet to live in Quebec (which is not a country but a winter!), I mostly meet people who love their country and think that winter are beautiful with its snowy landscapes. I think it would have been more realistic to include some positive people, right? 

The story is well put together. There's even a twist towards the end that blew me away. The investigation is realistically resolved, the explanations stand and even the escape of a character suggests a possible sequel without a frustrating cliffhanger. The only concern is that the book is a bit long. That's a lot of pages for a thriller and it's very difficult to keep a steady pace as long. So to fill the pages, it is easier to write description (of feelings, landscapes, mundane acts...) This is where - in my case - the author loses me and I start skipping parts to find the dialogue or the action. Now I know that some readers enjoy taking their time in a story, they like to take the full measure of the atmosphere and decor. So, dear reader, if that's your case, this is the book for you. 

And what about the characters? Servaz the literate and sensitive cop is a little too sensitive for my liking, he is afraid of so many things that it's a miracle he's a cop! As for his way of reciting Latin sentences at all costs, I must say it's déjà vu and a little too cliche for my taste. It must be said that there are still several cliche in the characters but that doesn't spoil the story. Still, Servaz is a smart cop who leads good deductions and his team of geek cop is quite endearing. So it's a character that we'll like to follow.

In a nutshell

A well-crafted first novel, a story and an atmosphere murky at will but a story a tad longish, it's a 3/5 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.

Bone Dust White - Karin Salvaggio's first book

by Karin Salvalaggio

St. Martin's Press - Minotaur Books (May 13, 2014)
304 pages - 15.80 $

Someone is knocking at the door to Grace Adams’s house and won’t stop. Grace thinks she knows who it is, but when she looks out her bedroom window, she sees a woman she doesn’t recognize walking on the trails behind her home. The woman isn’t alone for long before a man emerges from the dark of the surrounding woods and stabs her, then retreats into the shadows, leaving her to die in the snow. Frantic, Grace calls the police but knows they’ll never arrive in time, so she herself goes to the woman and is shocked to find she’s not a stranger—and that only raises more questions.

Badly shocked, Grace is taken to the hospital, and Detective Macy Greeley is called back to the small town of Collier, Montana, where she worked a case once before. She needs to track down the killer and find out what the murder has to do with Grace, a troubled young woman whose harrowing past may have finally come in from the cold. But the town of Collier is just as hard-bitten now as it was years ago, and Macy will have to reopen old wounds as she investigates a murder that looks like it took eleven years to come to pass.

Karin Salvalaggio’s outstanding crime fiction debut, Bone Dust White, is an absolutely stunning work that signals the entrance of a major new talent.

What's about that book?

This is a first novel for Karin Salvalaggio and having read a first few books of authors, I must say it's pretty good. Even if sometimes the scenes follow without much transition which can be confusing, the story unfolds smoothly and continuously.

I enjoyed the well made depiction of ​​the city of Collier which main source of income seems to come from meth labs. It reveals the flip side of what makes the greatness of the United States. Here it's abject poverty, quarter with unfinished homes, rows of trailers, different traffic organized by truck drivers, hard people who prefer to remain silent and helpless victims. It's gritty, oppressive and depressing and it makes me feel awfully glad I don't live in such a place (which exists unfortunately).

There are a whole slew of characters in the book but we mainly follow Macy, the detective and Jared, the first paramedic on scene. These two are ex and their relationship, between memory, regret and acceptance, is well brought. I still have to admit that I think Jared takes up too much place in a detective novel that is supposed to be about a new detective, Macy. Especially as she teames up with the local Sheriff. Jared goes along with Macy in her investigation and we follow him out of the investigation, as if he were the main character. Certainly, he's the link between Macy and Grace - touching and all in fragility - but it seems to me that normally civilians do not accompany the police  during an investigation and he takes too much space.

The story is very gloomy, like the city, the atmosphere and the weather (freezing). Complicity are multiple and the silence - so strong in small communities - hinders Macy's work. Between disillusioned victims who no longer believe in the police and thugs who take advantage of their silence Macy has trouble finding the answers to her questions. For those who love novels where the characters are the heart of the story it's perfect. Here, the plot is mainly used to show the misery of small-town  in America and the decay of the human being. Quite black, but very human at the same time. A little regret, some questions - that are not relevant to the investigation - remain unresolved.

In a nutshell

A first novel altogether successful, a well writen context, the relations between characters are realistic and take the upper hand in this novel. This is a 3.5 / 5 for me.

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

Runner (early review)

by Patrick Lee

Minotaur Books (18 février 2014)

337 pages - 28.99 $

The blurb of this book, offered on NetGalley, immediately hooked me up. I liked the cover simple and effective (I'm the kind of people who thinks that covers often reflects the book). It also was a change from my reading: no murder to investigate but a chase, a desperate flight... and a mystery to break anyway. Thanks Minotaur Books for this book!

The blurb

Sam Dryden, retired special forces, lives a quiet life in a small town on the coast of Southern California. While out on a run in the middle of the night, a young girl runs into him on the seaside boardwalk. Barefoot and terrified, she’s running from a group of heavily armed men with one clear goal—to kill the fleeing child. After Dryden helps her evade her pursuers, he learns that the eleven year old, for as long as she can remember, has been kept in a secret prison by forces within the government. But she doesn’t know much beyond her own name, Rachel. She only remembers the past two months of her life—and that she has a skill that makes her very dangerous to these men and the hidden men in charge.

Dryden, who lost his wife and young daughter in an accident five years ago, agrees to help her try to unravel her own past and make sense of it, to protect her from the people who are moving heaven and earth to find them both. Although Dryden is only one man, he’s a man with the extraordinary skills and experience—as a Ranger, a Delta, and five years doing off-the-book black ops with an elite team. But, as he slowly begins to discover, the highly trained paramilitary forces on their heels is the only part of the danger they must face. Will Rachel’s own unremembered past be the most deadly of them all?

What I think of it

I must consider myself particularly fortunate early this year because I keep coming across very good books. Runner is one of them. I loved this story that has no downtime. Sam Dryden is a character we want to know in real life, not just for his fighting qualities but for his intelligence, his strength, because he's a trustworthy good guy. He's not infallible, which makes him very realistic and avoids the hero-who-never-lost-even-though-it-is-not-probable kind of character. As Sam, I also wanted to protect Rachel and help her to regain her memories. One feels that she has suffered, that she's afraid and that meeting with Sam brings her a lot, as meeting her allows Sam to regain a taste for life. So two very realistic and endearing characters we want to keep reading about, which is good since this book is the first in a series based on Sam Dryden. I can't wait to read more of his adventures !

The story will delight fans of conspiracy, SF and other techno-biological warfare. Note, however, that the SF side here is very well done, making it very plausible! We have all heard of military or government laboratories history, hidden scientific researches to find new weapons, to create better soldiers, etc. It's in the same vein and then I say no more, not to spoil the story! But know, dear reader who doesn't like this kind of story, the SF side is only a part of the book and serves as a basis to hunt down Sam and Rachel and if we know early a part of why an armed group is hunting Rachel... we learn much later the rest of her story. It follows a race against those determined to kill them and a time trial because they only have the time of their flight to hope to discover Rachel's secret. The narrative tension rises progressively along what they discover about Rachel and the arrival of new players that we don't know the intentions.

It's difficult to talk about Runner without revealing the story but one thing is for sure, it's one of those books that you'll closed by saying " blimey! I would have stayed a little longer with them." The ending is very well done, nostalgic with a touch of hope and positiveness. A too happy ending would not be realistic and a too dark end... too depressing (I hate stories that end too bad!) The author managed to make me want to read more adventures of Sam, while allowing me to close the book without an aftertaste of unfinished business that we sometimes experience in series. This is probably because the next book won't be about unanswered questions, but about a character, Sam, with whom we want to live another adventure.

In a nutshell

An excellent book, fast paced, characters that you appreciate rapidly, a well-crafted and believable story. Runner has it all, this is a 5/5!