June Reviews

Reviewed on this page: The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam (Chris Ewan), Toyboy (Holly Hill), Cemetery Lake (Paul Cleave), White Nights (Ann Cleeves), Snuff (Chuck Palahniuk), The Finder (Colin Harrison), The Dark Mountain (Catherine Jinks),  Everlost (Neal Shusterman), The Gilded Seal (James Twining),
 

THE GOOD THIEFíS GUIDE TO AMSTERDAM
by Chris Ewan
ISBN 9781847391278
238 pages
POCKET BOOKS
June 1 2008
$19.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
April 22 2008

Hereís a charming little topsy turvy tale in which the hero is a thief. He is also a crime fiction author, which, in my book at least, makes him a hero of an altogether different kind, but letís not get ahead of ourselves here.

Charlie Howard is currently domiciled in Amsterdam and he is approached, via his website, by an American whose name, he later discovers, is Michael. Michael is a fan, but not of Howardís writing -- or perhaps he is-- but rather of Charlieís unpublicised occupation, that of burglar. After protesting his innocence rather too vehemently, Charlie admits to the possibility and is shown the figure of one of the three wise monkeys, executed in plaster. Michael explains that he wishes the other two figures, the monkeys covering ears and mouth respectively, and will pay rather well for the cheap ornaments provided they are stolen from colleagues of his whom he will identify for Howard. Charlie turns down the proposition, but rather a lot of money is on offer and he is never particularly flush so.......

Charlie makes his way to a houseboat on which there is a safe. He manages to solve the mystery of opening that device and possesses himself of the plaster figurine of a monkey, the one occluding his ears. Of course, with that encouragement, Charlie is bound, then, to retrieve the third figurine, the one  proclaiming the wisdom of speaking no evil. Retrieving that little ape proves rather more difficult than had been the theft of the deafened monkey, but eventually it is accomplished.

Naturally enough, supposedly  simple deeds are frequently more complicated than foreseen. When Charlie next lays eyes on Michael, the American is in the process of dying.

This is a charming little outing. While the notion of thief-as-hero is not new (anyone remember Raffles?) Ewan adds to the charm by making his criminal an author. Thus, he has more problems to solve than are apparent in his life as a crook. Certainly, he always has the option to incorporate some of the difficulties he encounters in his burglarious career into his next mystery but first, he must get it right while committing is crime.

The characterisation is well done within certain parameters. After all, one must stretch oneís suspension of disbelief to a precarious thinness to swallow many of the devices mooted in the outing. The creations must, therefore, be consonant with the protagonist -- the agent who is complicit in his crimes, for example.

While the reader must, of necessity, realise that there is something hidden within the monkey figurines, the secret is still a surprise (if the reader has been playing the game according to the authorís rules, that is.)

At any rate, Ewan introduces readers to Amsterdam as perhaps they are likely to see it, if they ever travel in that direction.
TOYBOY
by Holly Hill
ISBN 9781741667189
308 pages
EBURY PRESS
June 2 2008
$32.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
May 19 2008

When TOYBOY landed on my desk, I assumed it was mystery fiction. I wasnít long under that illusion, after I began reading it. It is, in fact, something of a ìhow toî manual and follows on the heels of that authorís previous opus, SUGARBABE, another manual, but one at the opposite end of the spectrum, where the author offered herself up to sugardaddies who would give her a generous allowance (apparently she was stony broke at the time) and generally look after her welfare in exchange for light duties (including, of course, sexual.)

The pseudonymous Holly Hill (the pen name adopted to protect the identities of her victims-- that is, her subjects) has fantasies that make her think she is a submissive (yes, well, if you, Dear Reader, are unfamiliar with the sex jargon of the sophisticated-- as I was, I am ashamed to say--you will be enlightened as you make your journey through the pages) despite reassurances from a friend. The same friend suggested that the aging Holly (now 40, as opposed to the sugarbabe days of 35-- which didnít seem a great difference to me, at least) should look at hiring a toyboy.

When Holly had advertised for sugar daddies, she had received an enormous number of hits; to her surprise, initially, her advertisement for a toyboy receives very few applications, despite a reasonable number of hits. Obviously there is something wrong with her technique. After all, when she was offering herself as a sugarbabe, she was requesting payment, yet her sugarmummy (so to speak) ad was receiving nowhere near the same interest, despite her offer of cold cash.

Her advertising manner corrected, Holly sets about selecting suitable males-- although she does manage to light on at least one ìunsuitableî because of her kind heart. Having selected those to suck at the sugar teat, she then sets about employing and writing about them.

There really should be a section in bookstores devoted to miscellaneous education. TOYBOY would fit right into such an environment. Sex education would not really cover it-- it lacks the dehumanisation necessary for such enlightenment given by schools-- but a miscellaneous section would well contain it.

I have to admit that this book made me realise I have lived a far more sheltered existence than I knew. Not, I would hasten to add, that I would want to model my life upon Holly Hillís, but she certainly provided something of an eye opener for me.

This is a very lively narrative and provides quite good entertainment for us middleaged monogamous people. I canít say it made me anxious to experiment as did Holly, but still......

I couldnít help wondering about the nom de plume. While ìHolly Hillî appears on the front cover,  ìJenny Hillî is the name associated with the copyright page. If ìJennyî is Hollyís real name, it doesnít appear to be a very efficient subterfuge, but who knows?

I wonder what adventure Holly will undertake after this. Foster parenting?
CEMETERY LAKE
by Paul Cleave
ISBN 9781863255981
350 pages
BANTAM
June 2 2008
$29.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
May 21 2008

Paul Cleave has done more to change my opinion of the lovely, quiet little cathedral town of Christchurch than any bad experience I ever had there. CEMETERY LAKE  is the second book of his that I have read, the first being THE CLEANER, and the cumulative effect has been to make me think twice about including Christchurch in our itinerary next time we tour New Zealand, relatives notwithstanding-- or perhaps the ultimate decision was because of the relatives.

The tale begins in a cemetery. Itís during the day, rather than at the witching hour, which is just as well since once things get going and people who should be stowed safely in coffins come to light, the nervous could well be forgiven for their terror. One would think the caretaker of the cemetery would be immune from any supernatural terror, but what would account for his stealing the truck involved in an exhumation, and taking off with it?

Theodore Tate is a private investigator. He used to be a detective in the police force but lost that particular vocation a couple of years previously when his young daughter was killed and his wife badly injured, losing all her mental faculties in a car accident. Now Tateís world is rocked once more, because if the dead are not inviolate within their coffins, is Tateís daughter, Emily, any more safe within the confines of a cemetery than the corpses that Tate sees surfacing in the lake?

Theoretically, since Tate no longer works for the police, he has no interest in discovering the identities of the resurrected-- or rather, resurfaced-- corpses, but he is curious, and the caretakerís seeking his help is an added motivation. And then there are the newly dead..........

One way or another, there is no shortage of dead bodies in this opus. One can understand, too, the police jealously guarding their secrets from the former member of their team.

There is action aplenty in the tale and the whole is well plotted indeed. The characterisation is convincingly constructed, too. The grief of the former detective is all too plausible, as is his dogged determination to get to the bottom of the mystery.

Cleave writes well and while this book canít be described truthfully as a happy tale, it is certainly absorbing.
WHITE NIGHTS
by Ann Cleeves
ISBN 9780230014459
392 pages
MACMILLAN
June 1 2008
$32.99
reviewed by Denise Pickles
May  22 2008

Poor Jimmy Perez. He very much wants to make a good impression on artist Fran, but when he attends an exhibition of her paintings in addition to the paintings of a better known local artist, the personal impression cedes precedence to his professional self. An Englishman inspecting the paintings suddenly burst into tears, claiming amnesia. Perez hastens to the manís side in an attempt to help him, but while his attention is diverted, the man disappears. The following day the mystery of his disappearance is solved, with the discovery of his lfieless body, but that, of course, means a greater mystery must be solved. The mask the body is wearing only adds to the confusion.

Jimmy, of course, must play second fiddle once more to the slightly bigger gun (to mix a metaphor) of Roy Taylor of Inverness. Somehow, they must identify the dead man (no easy task, since he carried none of the usual means of identification) then also learn why he attempted to sabotage the art show, for he had been handing out fliers claiming the show had been cancelled.

In their previous investigation, the two detectives had formed something that might even be described as a fledgling friendship but now the senior man can view Perez only as something of a nuisance and any contribution Perez makes as something to be resented, but the joint investigation must go on.

Perez has the advantage over the southerner of being familiar with the local people but even he does not have the knowledge of the far past and the effects it might have on present day relationships.

Cleeves has produced yet another cracking good mystery. The identity of the murderer came as a complete surprise to me and I had to stop and think carefully about the prose leading up to the revelation and see how the author had carefully constructed the situations and the characters to make the entire construct plausible.

The atmosphere of  Shetland, as portrayed once more in this work, proved a great attraction for me. Itís very good to know that Cleeves plans at least two more novels to be set in Shetland. One can only hope she does not limit herself to four.
SNUFF
by Chuck Palahniuk
ISBN 9780224078580
197 pages
Jonathan Cape
June 2 2008
$32.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
May 29 2008

Some years ago, at the urging of my dearly beloved, but very bossy, son, I read FIGHT CLUB. When I noticed the author of SNUFF, I thought I would preempt my sonís categorical imperative and read this book before he noticed it had been released and exerted pressure on me to read the latest Palahniuk masterpiece.

The plot is fairly simple. Cassie Wright, porn actress, wants to set a world record for serial sex. She thinks she can cope with six hundred rampant penises in one day, so the stage is set and the story told from the viewpoints of three men in the queue and Cassieís very personal assistant, Sheila. Speaking of which, there are various videos of said porn queen on the Net to publicise the book, but Cassie in the videos ainít no sheila. She is a drag queen.

The men in the queue are marked with indelible ink (so no one can return for seconds?) and one wonders if any of them hopes to be the fortunate one to precipitate Cassieís predicted demise.

Of the three blokes whose story is told, the most heart wrenching is that of Number 72. He is a young fellow who has been told he is the issue of the porn queen herself, the result of an accidental insemination. Regardless of the Oedipal implications, he is prepared to give his all to save his imagined mother from the horrors to which she has been subjected-- submitted?-- all these years.

Some of the men are fortified by Viagra, but all are hopeful that they will help propel the lady into porn history.

The quality of the writing is good but of the satire perhaps a little less so. The characterisation is about on a par with the characterisation.

Did I enjoy the book? Now that is the question. It certainly provided an education, so I guess the answer to that is how one appreciates education.

After reading the work, I rang my son and proudly announced my achievement. Had he read the book? ìOh no, Mum.î quoth he. ìI think heís become a bit repetitive.î
THE FINDER
by Colin Harrison
ISBN 9780747595434
325 pages
BLOOMSBURY
June 6 2008
$32.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
June 3 2008

I have, in previous reviews of Colin Harrisonís books, remarked upon his attention to detail. I must say I was very pleased, when reading this opus, that he did not give a breath by breath description of the fate of two Mexican girls. I am not quite sure if they are drowned or suffocated -- or perhaps it is a combination of the two. The top of the vehicle in which they are travelling is broken into and a pipe is introduced into the breathing space. A further introduction comes gurgling into the vehicle and one trusts the demise of the two girls is swift, as the agent of death is human excrement. Appropriately enough, the girlsí boss, Jin Li, is saved from the same fate as suffered by the Mexicans because she has left the car and is obeying a call of nature.

Jin Li is the local boss of a company that shreds sensitive documents. Of course, the companies that employ her company would be less than pleased if they realised that the documents are inspected prior to their supposed destruction and that an unspecified number are saved.

Tom Reilly is Senior Executive Vice-President of Good Pharma, a drug company. His duties include impressing possible investors and relieving them of as much money as possible by any means possible. This includes taking them to baseball games where they are placed in the best possible seats. Unfortunately for him, something occurs at a game that wrecks his own game of persuading people to part with their money to invest in his company.

Ray Grant is a former New York fireman. His peace of mind was, like so many others, ruined  when the Twin Towers came down. He has since indulged in adventurous activities but his fatherís soon-to-be fatal illness calls him back to New York. As he is taking care of his fatherís interests, he mixes business with a trifle of pleasure and whilst he is about this, he is kidnapped by some large, intimidating Chinese men, who take him to meet Chen, the brother of Rayís former girlfriend, who happens to be Jin Li. He is instructed to find the woman, and both his safety and that of his dying father hang in the balance.

Harrison writes a mean action thriller. His attention to detail always imbues his work with a tremendous sense of reality (which is the reason for my rejoicing at his not having subjected the reader to too  detailed a description of the death of the Mexican women.)

The characterisation is splendid in this work. Not only do the main people spring to seemingly effortless life, but so do the ancillary characters-- such as a particularly nasty Russian bloke who attempts to persuade a fugitive Jin Li of the delights possible congress with him would hold.

I doubt that the author will resurrect these particular characters in future works, which is a shame as I was rather taken with Grant. Not to worry. Harrison always seems to invent interesting and plausible people.
THE DARK MOUNTAIN
by Catherine Jinks
ISBN  9781741149951
471 pages
ALLEN & UNWIN
June 1 2008
$32.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
June 4 2008

THE DARK MOUNTAIN is far from a debut novel and the professionalism shines through in the polished prose of this historical piece. The setting is in the relatively new colony of New South Wales and the tale follows the fortunes of the Atkinson family, most especially that of the wilful daughter Charlotte.

The Atkinson children are unfortunately situated. Their father dies when the eldest daughter, Charlotte, is only six. To Charlotte, from whose point of view the story is told, the time before James Atkinsonís demise is a period of unalloyed pleasure. The fortunes of the family take a turn for the worse after that sad event.

George Barton, hired by Charlotteís father as overseer, is already present on Oldbury and John Lynch, later to become possibly Australiaís worst serial killer (but he had a reason for his killings-- God told him to do it) is also working on the property.

One day, Charlotteís mother leaves the children at Oldbury and journeys to Belanglo ( a place of infamy over a century  and a half later) in company with George Barton.There they are set upon by bushrangers and Barton is flogged. Mysteriously, Mrs Atkinson is spared but soon after returning to Oldbury, she and Barton are married.

After this, the childrenís lives, especially Charlotteís, are rendered miserable by their new stepfather. Eventually their mother, too, is reduced to such a state that they all forsake Oldbury and move to Sydney.

In Sydney, things at first improve, but Mrs Barton has a temper, as does Charlotte, and both ladies suffer because of it. Not only that, the dreadful Barton assails them, to the extent that they are forced to return to Oldbury, even more reduced in circumstances than when they left it. The laws of the day regarding women and property must be borne in mind when regarding what happens to the Atkinson family-- and thank goodness Australiaís laws are now very different.

This is a beautifully written and well researched novel. Jinks brings the old colonial days to vivid life, with the old class distinctions still so marked and the depicting of how a woman could fall from grace in the eye of society so very easily by marrying her overseer.

I found the characterisations to be somewhat lacking, other than Charlotte herself, that is. I would imagine this is because of a lack of detail to be discovered, at this distance in time, of Charlotteís siblings and other contemporaries. This is compensated for by the detail incorporated into the picture of colonial New South Wales.

For anyone with an interest in Australian history, this novel would be an invaluable resource to give one the feel of that colony.
EVERLOST
by Neal Shusterman
ISBN 9780689872389
377 pages
Simon Pulse
January 1 2008
$14.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
June 10 2008

A black Mercedes and a white Toyota crash headlong into each other on a hairpin bend above a dead forest. Allie is sitting in the front seat of the Toyota and Nick in the front seat of the Mercedes. Allie, having been involved in an argument with her father, thoughtlessly removes her seatbelt in order to adjust her blouse. Nick is sitting in the back seat of the Merc with his older brother and sister who keep jostling him so that the chocolate bar he has been trying to eat is smeared all over his face. He has no seatbelt, since there are three people in the back seat but only two seatbelts. Airbags inflate in both cars, but the two unsecured children shoot through their respective windshields.

Both children find themselves in a black tunnel, but bump something and fly through the dark walls, hit the ground and sleep.

An eleven year-old  boy, younger than Allie and Nick (who are about fourteen) is very interested in the crash. At first he is disappointed, because the only corpses he initially spies are those of adults-- and they ìgot where they were goingî. Soon, however, he sees Nick and Allie and, knowing they would eventually wake, he settles down to wait for that happy day when all three could play, swinging through the trees with not a care in the after-world.

Nick and Allie have different ideas, however. When they wake (after nine months) and find the younger boy, they  refuse to stay and play with him in the forest. The child has forgotten his name, so they call him Lief-- and vow not to forget their own names.

Nick and Allie emerge from the forest, followed by Lief, but they have a great deal to learn of the afterlife. Monsters-- or at least one monster, the McGill-- live there and need to be avoided-- or defeated.

The author must have had great fun inventing the laws of Everlost. Just a couple: the Afterlights are all children-- adults donít go to Everlost because adults donít get lost. If an Afterlight  stands still on any place other than the special dead places, they sink and may arrive at the centre of the earth. Only one Afterlight has ever had the gift of being able to return to the surface. Certain things accompany an Afterlight into Everlost, including a single nickel. Some physical things do travel to Everlost when their owner dies, simply because they were much loved by their owner.

The characterisation in the novel is excellent. The manipulative nature of Mary Hightower, someone I would characterise as a monster, although she is benevolent in her intentions, is unfortunately real. Allie and Nick are very well constructed, as is Lief. The monster McGill, too is horribly believable, as are his cohorts.

While Everlost could not be seen as any earthly clericís idea of an afterlife, itís a very successful invention. From the experience I have had, over the years, with young children, I think it would do much to quell any  curious childís fear of death.

In short, this novel provides a charming, inventive tale that would delight any child or young adult-- and some older adults.
THE GILDED SEAL
by James Twining
ISBN 9780007260744
438 pages
Harper Collins
December 1 2007
$32.99
reviewed by Denise Pickles
June 11 2008

Hereís a nice little thriller involving one of the more enigmatic and mysterious wonders of the art world, the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci. Is it possible that the painting, sitting in splendour in the Louvre and venerated by all who see her, could possibly be  a  talented copy. and if so, by whom and how could the substitution have been performed-- and why?

Tom Kirk is a reformed crook, his specialty being art. People who previously shivered in fear at his exploits now queue up for his advice. Da Vinciís Madonna of the Yarnwinder  has been stolen and a message, unmistakably for Tom (nicknamed Felix), left at the site-- presumably by art thief Milo, one of Tomís old adversaries. A star-crossed cat has fulfilled its destiny in Tomís life.

FBI Special Agent Jennifer Browne is called in to investigate the impossibility of a Gauguin being auctioned while at the same time being held in the US.

Kirk is horrified to discover that master art forger, Rafael, is dead.  On investigating, he learns that Rafael has been crucified.

Leigh Lewis is an unpleasant journalist of the sensation seeking kind. He is on the trail of Jennifer and coins the expression ìBlack Widowî to describe her, since people with whom she has had a relationship tend to meet their death rather quickly.

Tom travels to Spain in order to investigate the death of his friend but since he is still wanted by the Spanish authorities, finds his activities hampered.

Another of Tomís former lovers, Eva, becomes embroiled in the investigation. Eva is Rafaelís stepdaughter and comes across Tom when he is inspecting Rafaelís studio. She is implicated in the ongoing crimes rather more than it at first seems.

This is a well thought out, if bold, tale which invokes quite a few thought provoking notions. The possibility of the Mona Lisa being replaced, undetected, by a forgery is rather delicious. The  art history to which the reader is treated is interesting, especially if the reader is anxious to find out things about the art world.

As to the characterisation, well, yes, that is believable (if betrayal is your thing.)

On the whole, this is an interesting, if convoluted tale that provides quite a bit of excitement for the discerning reader.