The Hanging Girl by Jussi-Adler Olsen

PENGUIN GROUP Dutton


I read Jussi Adler-Olsen's first novel, The Keeper of the Lost Causes, in French, I loved it and read it in one sitting between Québec and New York. What I like about this book, was that even if I quickly guessed the culprit, Morck / Assad dynamic duo gave a lot of plus in that book.

The Hanging Girl, the sixth book in the Department Q series is now released, in English. So I was really happy to read this book, even though I have not read all the books between the first and last one.

The first point is, clearly, a lot happened between the first and the sixth volume. Two people have joined the team and I don't have a clue why or how but there's a lot going on between them. So it is certainly not a big deal and it doesn't unhinge the reading but it adds to the fact that I enjoyed this book less than the other.

I do not know if it's the English translation but I struggled to immerse myself in the story. Among others, I haven't found the funny, ironic or cynical tone that made Morck laziness enjoyable. Same way as in the first book, you'll very too quickly know who did it and even why, except that if in the first book the two "partner in crime", the ambiance and the unwinding stress added much to the story, this time no. They just trample, Morck is annoying what with his spinelessness and not wanting to do anything, the culprit keep killing in piece and quiet while Morck and Assad are investigating an old murder. In short, because I know the author, I was expecting for the plot to become more and more stressful, a bit of exciting stuff, some fun exchanges between the two but it happened too late in the book.

For the plus part of the book, the story is set in a sect but Adler avoids clichés and gives us a culprit whose motives are very human. And that, I admit I enjoyed. People in this sect do not seem all illuminated and they are free of their movement. In the end, it's all about good old motives of love, hatred and jealousy. Adler also shows very well that people who want to believe - in something or someone - know how not to see the truth in front of them, leaving the field open for a malicious person.

The blurb

In the middle of his usual hard-won morning nap in the basement of police headquarters, Carl Mørck, head of Department Q, receives a call from a colleague working on the Danish island of Bornholm. Carl is dismissive when he realizes that a new case is being foisted on him, but a few hours later, he receives some shocking news that leaves his headstrong assistant Rose more furious than usual. Carl has no choice but to lead Department Q into the tragic cold case of a vivacious seventeen-year-old girl who vanished from school, only to be found dead hanging high up in a tree. The investigation will take them from the remote island of Bornholm to a strange sun worshipping cult, where Carl, Assad, Rose, and newcomer Gordon attempt to stop a string of new murders and a skilled manipulator who refuses to let anything—or anyone—get in the way.

In a nutshell

The end of the story is better and it gets more interesting but I'm overall a little disappointed by this book. It is 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.

Enzan : The Far Moutain by John Donohue

A Connor Burke Martial Arts Thriller
Published July 7th 2014 by YMAA Publication Center
296 pages




By choosing this book, I told myself that it was not a big risk, as this is the fifth book in the series... As... if the first 4 had not been good, the series would not have been so far! I also liked the cover that goes very well with the Japanese martial arts theme.

So, inevitably, when you begin a series in the 5th volume, there is always the concern of whether you'll feel like you've missed some important things to better understand the book. About that book, I can tell: yes, but not... Because yes, there are some allusions to past adventures, some understanding that regular readers will appreciate, but for novices like me, it goes very well anyway!

I enjoyed learning more about martial arts, you'll understand very quickly that the author really knows them and knows how to explain the concepts and context of his art while making it interesting. I never felt like reading an essay on Japanese martial art but rather found that the explanations about the "way of the warrior" brought a very zen touch to a very violent history. It's a contrast that makes a special note to this book.

The characters, mostly Burke and his Sensei, are very well written, we can feel the respect of the student to the master and the amused tenderness of Yamashita for his pupil. I appreciated that there are in this book no superheroes or nor villains able to get up after eating a hail of bullets, it's more realistic.

And the story? Burke is investigating alone, with no means at hand and sometimes with a few sleazy accomplices, which does not always bring happy results but have the merit of making a well-paced story. We follow him from adventure to misadventure in a sometimes Zen atmosphere and sometimes rock n'roll one.

The blurb

Chie Miyazaki is wild and spoiled—the pampered child of a cadet line of the imperial House of Japan. When she disappears in the United States accompanied by a slick Korean boyfriend, it sets off alarm bells among people in Japan’s security apparatus.

The Japanese want the problem solved quietly. They seek out Connor Burke, pupil of the master swordsman Yamashita. But the rescue operation soon turns deadly. Burke suspects that he's being used, but he accepts the assignment out of honor for his revered sensei.

A covert search and rescue operation turns into a confrontation with a North Korean sleeper cell. Burke finally discovers the secret that drove Yamashita from Japan so many years ago and now pulls them both into deadly danger.

In a nutshell

A good book, well written, a well-paced story, a sometimes troubled zen. In a nutshell, a book that reads quickly, entertaining and that'll make you want to go treading along a tatami. 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.

Tom Savage's interview!

Today I'm hosting Tom Savage who's book Mrs John Doe came out on the 6th of October ! I'll just say that I've read his book and it's really great! There's spying, humour, a great female character, a sense of family and lots of adventure!

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Hi Vanessa. Thanks for having me on your blog.

Tom
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The culprit

Tom Savage is the author of six suspense novels: Precipice, Valentine, The Inheritance, Scavenger, A Penny for the Hangman, and Mrs. John Doe. He wrote two detective novels under the name T. J. Phillips, Dance of the Mongoose and Woman in the Dark. His short stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, and anthologies edited by Lawrence Block, Harlan Coben, and Michael Connelly. His short story, “The Method In Her Madness,” was nominated for the Barry Award. His bestselling novel, Valentine, was made into a Warner Bros. film. In his younger days he was a professional actor, and he also wrote a Broadway show, Musical Chairs.

Tom was born in New York and raised in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. He attended Point Park College and Hofstra University, majoring in drama and minoring in English. After acting and writing plays, he worked for many years at Murder Ink®, the world’s first mystery bookstore. He’s a member of Actors Equity Association, ASCAP, the Authors Guild, Mystery Writers of America, the International Association of Crime Writers, and International Thriller Writers. He has served as a director on the national board of MWA, and he’s served several times on the Best Novel committees for MWA (Edgar® Awards) and IACW (Hammett Prize). He is a founding member of MWA’s Mentor Program, assessing and encouraging new mystery writers. He lives in New York City.

He spills the beans…

Will you tell us a little bit about your book Mrs. John Doe?
An American actress in Europe stumbles on a deadly plot, and now she's running for her life. This is my eighth published novel, but it's my first spy novel. I love stories about espionage and international chases. I grew up reading Helen MacInnes, John le Carré, and Robert Ludlum, among others, and Alfred Hitchcock is my favorite filmmaker--particularly The 39 Steps, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and my all-time favorite movie, North By Northwest. I decided to try my hand at writing a story like that. I made my protagonist, Nora Baron, and actor because I was a professional actor before I began writing. I used my own theatrical knowledge to give Nora an edge, a defense against her enemies. She's up against some very dangerous people who will stop at nothing to get what they want, and she's an American on the run in two foreign countries--England and France--so she can use all the help she can get. I loved writing about Nora Baron because she's so resourceful, and I modeled my plot on my favorite classic spy thrillers. I hope readers have as much fun reading Mrs. John Doe as I had writing it!

Do you still need to work? If yes, how do you manage to combine work and writing (and mentoring and blogging...)
I still need to work, but unfortunately, I can’t. I was an actor and theatrical composer, and for twenty years I was a bookseller at Murder Ink®. I have no other marketable skills! I’m too old to get back in the theater, and there aren’t many bookstores left. I wouldn’t be able to find a job anywhere at this point, so I’m hoping people buy my books. They’re my only source of income now. Mentoring and blogging are my hobbies, so I make time for them. I love talking about mystery books, and now that I’m no longer in a bookstore every day, blogging is the next best thing. And the Mystery Writers of America’s Mentor Program is a wonderful way to meet and encourage the new generation of mystery writers.

As a man, you write clever and powerful female characters (I’m thinking about Nora Baron in Mrs. John Doe or Karen Tyler in A Penny for the Hangman). Is it thanks to your aunt, Lesley, who seems to have been such a strong and exceptional woman? 

I never called her Aunt Lesley--she was just Mom. Mom was an actor, director, and producer in the theater, and later she owned a shopping center and a real estate company in the Virgin Islands. She was a protofeminist, demanding equality for women long before the movement officially started. Nora Baron is partially based on her. All the female characters in my stories are strong because all the women I know are strong. I’m not interested in reading about weak people, male or female, so I don’t write about them.

Which events will you attend in the next months?
I have no plans to attend anything for a while. I’m writing two new stories, so no events.

What are you reading now?
THE ASSASSINS by Gayle Lynds. It’s a terrific international thriller.

What do you look for in a good book? Is there anything that will make you put a book down, unfinished?
I look for good writing, of course. That’s first and foremost on my list of ingredients. I look to be transported, to not think about the mechanics of the piece while enjoying the ride. It’s often difficult for writers to read other writers, especially mystery and suspense writers, because we all know the same tricks. My favorite mystery writers are the ones who can consistently make me forget I’m a writer while I’m reading. What makes me put a book down, unfinished? Predictability, preaching, pornography--let’s call them the Three Ps, shall we? Anything that demeans or diminishes the human spirit--I will never understand this whole SHADES OF GREY thing. What woman in her right mind would tune in to the disgusting idea that women secretly want to be dominated by any man, let alone a dull rich one? And dystopian stories: We’ve been inundated with dreary end-of-the-world scenarios lately, and they’re all the same scenario. It’s enough to send sensible readers back to BRAVE NEW WORLD and ON THE BEACH (which wouldn’t be a bad thing). I hope those trends are soon over.

If you could experience one book again for the first time, which one would it be?
That’s a dead tie, the two books I read back-to-back when I was fifteen that made me want to become a writer: GREAT EXPECTATIONS and REBECCA.

What's next for you?
Those two stories I mentioned. One is about American con artists in Europe, and the other involves a deadly impersonation. And I already have ideas for several more novels, so I should be busy for quite a while.

Why so serious questions
If you weren’t a writer, what would you be?
An actor. My other talent, and my other great love.

Worst writer’s habit?
Procrastination. Well, unless the writer in question is a drunk or drug addict, something like that--then I’d say controlled substances. For me it’s procrastination.

If you were a fictional hero?
Oh gosh, I’d love to be Frodo Baggins. Or James Bond. One or the other, depending on my mood. Frodo is brave and capable and loyal, the best friend you could ever have. James Bond is all that, plus everybody wants to have sex with him.

Favourite swear word while writing?
Darn. (I’m not a big swearer.)

Any question you want to ask your hero?
If you mean Nora Baron, I’d ask how those designer boots are working out for her. I had to dress her for a lot of running and action in various types of weather, and she wouldn’t have many opportunities to change clothes. At the same time, she’s a fiftyish university teacher who’s ostensibly in mourning, so I figured sweatsuits and Nikes were out. What do women wear when they want to look good and move freely at the same time? I’m a guy, so I had no idea, right? I consulted some physically active professional women I know, and they recommended pantsuits, an all-purpose trench coat, and boots. I’m sure they were right, but I worried about her in those boots.

Most ridiculous way to die in a book?
I read a mystery once where the vic was knocked unconscious while seated at a dinner table, and his face fell into a cup of coffee. Or maybe it was a bowl of soup. I forget. But imagine drowning like that! And the poor perp--he only meant to knock the guy out, and now he’s a murderer! That’s what I call bad karma.

Your main character’s favourite meal?
Considering her plight, I’d say anything she can grab quickly and wolf down while running in designer boots (see above). Sandwiches would be a good idea.

About the Book
Title: Mrs. John Doe
Author: Tom Savage
Genre: Thriller

In the adrenaline-laced new novel of suspense from Tom Savage—hailed by Michael Connelly as “a master of the high-speed thriller”—an American actress in Europe races to find the truth behind her husband’s mysterious accident. What she uncovers makes her the target of a shocking conspiracy.

Nora Baron’s life is perfect. She lives on Long Island Sound, teaches acting at a local university, and has a loving family. Then one phone call changes everything. She’s informed that her husband, Jeff, has died in a car crash while on a business trip in England. Nora flies to London to identify the body, which the police have listed as a “John Doe.” When she leaves the morgue, a man tries to steal her purse containing Jeff’s personal effects. Clearly, all is not as it seems.

At her hotel, Nora receives a cryptic message that leaves her with more questions than answers. She follows the message’s instructions to France, where a fatal encounter transforms her into a fugitive. Wanted for murder, on the run in a shadowy landscape of lies, secrets, and sudden violence, Mrs. “John Doe” must play the role of a lifetime to stay one step ahead of a ruthless enemy with deadly plans for her—and for the world.

You can follow Tom here: His Website or On Facebook

You'll find his book on Goodreads too!

And you can (should) buy the Book here:
Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Books-a-Million

Google Play

iBooks

Penguin Random House

Mrs John Doe by Tom Savage

Random House Publishing Group - Alibi
Pub Date Oct 6, 2015


I had read and enjoyed Tom previous book, A Penny for the Hangman, some time ago. Tom is an author who knows how to use the art of narrative and writing sympathetic characters.

He manages once again to make us have a good time in the company of Nora, an intelligent woman full of resources (in here you'll find Tom's interview who explains, among others things, where does his inspiration for his female characters come from).

This book is a mix of espionage, suspense, chase with well written characters, rogues to perfection, liars or conversely straightforward and friendly. But as you should never trust appearances, Nora will understand that in this spy game, you should be wary of all...

One leaves the United States, arrives in England, ends up in France... and each time the country is well represented and it makes you want to go there. The author also knows to sprinkle its plot with culture and good food, avoiding a too dark novel. Result ? We spend a very pleasant time with a story that does not weaken, a plot that fire a few well-chosen twists away.

The blurb

Nora Baron's life is perfect. She lives on Long Island Sound, teaches acting at a local university, and has a loving family. Then one phone call changes everything. She's informed that her husband, Jeff, has died in a car crash while on a business trip in England. Nora flies to London to identify the body, which the police have listed as a “John Doe.” When she leaves the morgue, a man tries to steal her purse containing Jeff's personal effects. Clearly, all is not as it seems.

At her hotel, Nora receives a cryptic message that leaves her with more questions than answers. She follows the message's instructions to France, where a fatal encounter transforms her into a fugitive. Wanted for murder, on the run in a shadowy landscape of lies, secrets, and sudden violence, Mrs. “John Doe” must play the role of a lifetime to stay one step ahead of a ruthless enemy with deadly plans for her—and for the world.

In a nutshell

Great time spent at the speed of a chase, 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.

The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joël Dicker

Paperback: 656 pages
Publisher: Penguin Books; First Edition edition (May 27, 2014)


The main concern when one reads pocketbooks is that one misses the action and a trove like this book. (At the same time, the bright side is that one avoids buying the latest fashionable novel, because it is fashionable and having to put up with a lame platitude which only advantage is a successful marketing...)

In the end, it took me some time to buy this book because:
- The Goncourt mention was only saved by the fact that this is the students prize (I hoped that they really were looking to reward quality) (mouahaha)
- This book is labeled novel. Well, I have a very slight tendency to only read thrillers

In the end, it took that some friends were surprised that I hadn't already read the book "it's great, really, you'll see" and I must say they were right and I do not regret at all having bet a part of my vacation in Cuba with this book (which I finally read midway throught during our journey there).

It's been awhile since I had been so pleasantly surprised by the construction of a novel. What originality! One has the impression that it goes in all directions (and this is somewhat the case with multiple changes of perspective) but this creates a dynamic and rhythm that entertains us. You'll find

boxing, writing advices, exchanges of letters, stories, action. In short, nice pieces that give a nicer whole.

So, admittedly, some criticize the love story between Nola and Harry, finding it too cutesy, others criticize the writing, finding it too simple for an Academy Award. And yes, it's true that the love story is mushy and the words of love between the two lovebirds are more reminiscent of a love story in Jane Austen than a relationship between a teenager and a thirty years old guy in 1975 but it's nice like that. Yes, the language is not that realistic but it's romantic and it brings a little old world charm to a crime fiction like no other.

As for me, I liked to know the people of this town, I would have loved going on vacation in this beach house and go out to the dinner sitting next to Harry's table. The words are simple but one thing is certain, they integrate us into the story. One is part of the inhabitants, we know them, they are our neighbors, with their faults and qualities.

And the plot is twisted at will. I thought I had discovered the culprit but it was too easy and I got fooled, then I found another culprit, less obvious, but I was still wrong and in the end I said "well then, I did not see that coming! " And in each chapter a new fact appears, a revelation is unveiled, a mystery is cleared and every time, what I thought of Nola and Harry changed and in the end, I was completely mistaken. That too is nice in a novel: to be taken for a ride!

This novel it's the language of Jane Austen that meets a police investigation Agatha Christie-like that receives writing tips from Mohamed Ali. Brilliant cocktail, huh? This novel is a gem that should appeal to many.

The blurb

August 30, 1975: the day fifteen-year-old Nola Kellergan is glimpsed fleeing through the woods, never to be heard from again; the day Somerset, New Hampshire, lost its innocence.

Thirty-three years later, Marcus Goldman, a successful young novelist, visits Somerset to see his mentor, Harry Quebert, one of the country’s most respected writers, and to find a cure for his writer’s block as his publisher’s deadline looms. But Marcus’s plans are violently upended when Harry is suddenly and sensationally implicated in the cold-case murder of Nola Kellergan—whom, he admits, he had an affair with. As the national media convicts Harry, Marcus launches his own investigation, following a trail of clues through his mentor’s books, the backwoods and isolated beaches of New Hampshire, and the hidden history of Somerset’s citizens and the man they hold most dear. To save Harry, his own writing career, and eventually even himself, Marcus must answer three questions, all of which are mysteriously connected: Who killed Nola Kellergan? What happened one misty morning in Somerset in the summer of 1975? And how do you write a book to save someone’s life?

In a nutshell

A real gem this book! It deserves the prize and the rave reviews. I loved the writing style, the twists, the relationships between the various characters. It is a 5/5 for me!

The Killing Kind by Chris Holm

Publisher: Mulholland Books (Sept. 15 2015)

Sold by: Hachette Book Group Digital, Inc.

Format: Kindle Edition

Print Length: 320 pages

Again, this excellent author offers us a novel that you will not let go!

The plus with Holm: his books covers are always beautiful, whether in a retro style like in his trilogy The Collector (Dead Harvest, The Wrong Goodbye and The Big Reap) or this one, very James Bond-esque. Personally, it's silly I know but a nice cover weights a lot in my reading choices.

And with Holm the story is always as good as the cover. Fourth book read by this author and I am never disappointed. Holm is right in line with authors of noir fiction with, always, this humor of his he perfectly gauged at the right time.

Chris Holm also has the knack to make completely hateful character in every respect, super friendly. Because let's be honest, a hitman who becomes the target of another hitman, one would have a slight urge to tell him, "serves you right mate, you just had to choose another career" But ultimately, well, we tend to find Hendricks qualities that make him the guy we would like to have as buddy.

The author draws up in few words the portraits of quite all the characters involved, both good and bad, and makes a very realistic picture of the protagonists. And in The Killing Kind, there is no shortage of protagonists! In the pure style "the hunted hunter", Hendricks tracks different hitmen themselves hunted by a hitman to flush Hendricks... that's a lot of hunters! It would be enough to lose tracks of the story (pun intended!) but the quality of writing, the rhythm that does not fail and the sharp wit make this book a delight.

And at one point, I shouted "NOOO" then "Phew !!" and ending with "Oh no...." Because Holm's like that, he plays with your nerves. And the best? We want more!

The blurb

A hitman who only kills other hitmen winds up a target himself.

Michael Hendricks kills people for money. That aside, he's not so bad a guy.
Once a covert operative for a false-flag unit of the US military, Hendricks was presumed dead after a mission in Afghanistan went sideways. He left behind his old life - and beloved fiancée - and set out on a path of redemption... or perhaps one of willful self-destruction.

Now Hendricks makes his living as a hitman entrepreneur of sorts - he only hits other hitmen. For ten times the price on your head, he'll make sure whoever's coming to kill you winds up in the ground instead. Not a bad way for a guy with his skill - set to make a living - but a great way to make himself a target.

In a nutshell

I'm sold, I love the writing of this author that never let you down. It is a 4.5 / 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.

Entanglement by Zygmunt Miłoszewski

(Polish State Prosecutor Szacki Investigates)

Antonia Lloyd-Jones (Translator)
254 pages
Bitter Lemon Press (Aug. 1 2010)



I regularly try to discover new authors, from different geographical corners... and I regularly fail one objective, namely the geographical corners. I realize that even if I read not known authors or at least never read authors, they quite all come from the same (comfort?) zone: France, USA, Canada, Great Britain and that's all... So I was very proud of me when I chose this book by Zygmunt Miloszewski, a Polish author (although I must admit that it is less his geographical origin that his book cover that prompted me to read it).

One thing is certain, I do not regret at all choosing that cover book! Some will find with pleasure some references to Agatha Christie: a murder behind closed doors, characters interviewed one by one and an unveiling in front of the group, some will feel like being in a giant Clue (because this time the crime does occur in the kitchen!) Others will be delighted by the characters, sometimes shifted, sometimes tortured, but always well written. Speaking characters, we closely follow the prosecutor Teodore Szacki who's doing a lot of thinking about both the ongoing investigations and his personal life.

I enjoyed discovering the Polish judicial system that looks a bit like the French one. A prosecutor conducting an investigation, aided by the police. Teodore will struggle to investigate because he sets foot in a plot to prevent him to delve into the past of the victim. So, certainly, the story mixes many different fields but each has the merit of lifting the veil on different subjects, be it dark and political history of Poland or therapies to the fashion of the day.

I enjoyed the behing the scenes of the judiciary system: here no resolution with great fanfare for each case but offices that are drowning in cases, prosecutors who spend more time filling out paperwork than investigating, investigations botched by lack of resources or disillusionment on the justice rendered.

I found original the newspapers extracts before each chapter which gives an idea of ​​the news of the day. This makes us revisit History from the Polish perspective. We discover as much the temperature of the day than the political shenanigans of the elections in progress. It gives a context to the story and gives us the impression of being part of this country, at this time.

I had a bit of difficulty in reading the sometimes unpronounceable names for non Polish people, so difficult to remember and easy to mix. You initially have to concentrate not to confuse the characters and understand the course of the plot. Another small problem for some people perhaps: this is not a breathless thriller, the investigation takes time. As for me, I found it perfectly served to emphasize the heaviness of the judicial system, the difficulties due to the historical and societal context of Poland in 2005.

The blurb

The morning oafter a gruelling group therapy session, Henry Talek is found dead, a roasting spit stuck in his eye. The case lands on the desk of Warsaw prosecutor Teodor Szacki. World-weary and suffering from bureaucratic exhaustion and marital ennui, Szacki feels that life has passed him by. But things are about to change, as his search for the killer unearths another murder that took place 20 years ago - before the fall of Communism. And why is the Secret Police taking such an intense interest in this particular case?

In a nutshell

A good first polar for this Polish writer that must be followed, because it seems that the second volume of the series is even better! It is a 4/5 for me.