June Reviews

Reviewed on this page: Revenge of the Spellmans (Lisa Lutz), Girl  Missing (Tess Gerritsen), Blind Eye (Stuart MacBride), First Family (David Baldacci), In Hovering Flight (Joyce Hinnefeld), Die For You (Lisa Unger), Emma's Baby (Abbie Taylor)

REVENGE OF THE SPELLMANS
by Lisa Lutz
ISBN  9781921470134
375 pages
SIMON & SCHUSTER
June 1 2009
$32.99
reviewed by Denise Pickles
May 22 2009

That completely atypical family of private investigators is back to entertain readers anew. Unlike their fictional contemporaries, they donít find themselves faced with terrible murders which must be solved and only the occasional blackmail case (usually wreaked by one of their own.) Nonetheless, they do not lead uneventful lives.

Isabel is currently enduring the attentions of a psychotherapist. This is the result of a court order and Isabel is most unhappy about it. It doesnít seem as though the therapist is terribly happy about it, either. Isabel is not working for her parents as a private investigator. She is, in fact, working as a bartender, although that state of affairs does change when a customer in the bar requests that she investigate his wife, whom he suspects of being unfaithful. Milo, the owner of the bar, has, in the meantime, cut Isabelís hours so that she is forced to take on the investigation.

In the meantime, Isabelís perfect, lawyer brother asks his sister to house sit while he goes away for a time. Isabel is pleased to oblige and leaves her erstwhile apartment, finding another, secret place to live when her brother returns-- complete with a broken arm. What could have happened to the ideal David?

The youngest Spellman sibling, Rae, has, meanwhile, found herself in trouble. She has sat for her PSAT exams but not taken much trouble with them, so has accidentally found herself with an exceptional score, a score that causes her parents to decide she should go to college.

Isabel, meanwhile, is having cause to doubt her mental acuity, psychotherapy notwithstanding. Somehow, her car is never where she thinks she remembers parking it at night.

These disparate threads do eventually come together and a nice little sideline on Raeís part is disclosed-- amongst other things. Isabel is even compelled to consider her future a bit more seriously than has been the case.

The characterisation of the piece is, despite the improbability of the plot, well done within the bounds of the Spellman world. The reader might even feel a sneaking sympathy for Raeís plight while definitely understanding Isabelís sleep deprived condition.

It will be interesting to see how Lutz can come up with more improbable situations in future books.
GIRL MISSING
by Tess Gerritsen
ISBN 9780593062753
271 pages
BANTAM PRESS
June 1 2009
$32.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
May 26 2009

It can be very interesting to read a well known (and well respected) authorís first attempts in a genre. GIRL MISSING (originally entitled PEGGY SUE GOT MURDERED)  was written in 1994. In a preface, Gerritsen explains how she came to write romance,  then how she grew into the crime fiction genre. In this novel, the crime fiction is  inferior to the romance angle, but the book still makes an interesting, if not as edgy, read.

Kat Novak is a Medical Examiner. The book begins with a body being brought in for her attentions, albeit nearly an hour before her official starting time. This corpse has no obvious cause of death, but the young woman is clutching a matchbook in which is written a telephone number. Kat rings the number, which turns out to belong to  Adam Quantrell, a wealthy businessman. He is very anxious to view the body, but is obviously relieved when he sees the girl. She is not his stepdaughter, who has gone missing.

This corpse is not the only overdose coming to Katís notice. There is another girl but also a boy who is still alive. Temporarily. It is obvious that all three are victims of too high a dose of some kind of drug of addiction, but analysis fails to identify it. Strangely (coincidentally?) enough, Quantrell owns a drug company, one which has a research arm and which has a new drug in test production. Of course, the drug is the one that has caused the mysterious deaths-- but there is great security in force with all new drugs, so how is it possible that Zestron-L is being hawked on the street?

In comparison with Gerritsenís later work, this novel is rather light weight. That is not a condemnation, since all authors have to start somewhere and GIRL MISSING is a promising beginning.

In keeping with the weight of the plotting, the characterisation, too, is somewhat light but, again, it shows promise.

One part that amused me and made me wonder if it reflected the authorís own feelings is where Kat explains why she chose the path of being a Medical Examiner:

ëFound out I couldnít stand being around sick people.í She shook her head and laughed ëImagine that.í

ëSo you chose the morgue.í

ëItís quiet. Itís contained.í

Even though I didnít enjoy this early work anywhere near as much as I have done Tess Gerritsenís later novels, I have no hesitation in recommending it, not only as a curiosity, but also as a fairly interesting read.
BLIND EYE
by Stuart MacBride
ISBN 9780007244591
517 pages
HarperCollinsPublishers
May 20 2009
reviewed by Denise Pickles
June 1 2009

Just because an author has a highly developed sense of humour doesnít necessarily mean he canít write a pretty good crime fiction novel. Stuart MacBride is a case in point. In BLIND EYE, he has invented some horrific mutilations for his crimmie to perform yet, in places, he had me giggling so hard that tears were rolling down my cheeks.

DS Logan McRae is sufficiently unlucky to discover a body, albeit one that still contains a spark of life. The man has been badly beaten but that is not the worst of the torture. He has also had his eyes forced out of their sockets and the surrounding area burned. To add to his woes, a policeman in his party also accidentally shoots a Polish woman who may be innocent of any obvious crime, although there are degrees of innocence.

The blinded man is not the sole example of the torturerís arts. There are other victims, also Polish and there are anonymous letters claiming responsibility and threatening reprisals on more Poles for their awful crime of immigrating to Aberdeen. Somehow, however, everything that goes wrong is laid at the feet of Logan McRae.

Logan, in the meantime, is being hotly pursued by DI Roberta Steel. She is in hot pursuit of the detective Sergeant for a particularly sensitive task. She want him to impregnate her partner, Susie. No hands on-- or the equivalent-- task. She just wants him to make a deposit in a little plastic container and he will be off her hook. Somehow, Logan is reluctant.

In the meantime, a local crime family becomes involved when one of them is blinded. The McLeods are a nasty bunch but do not fit the profile of the Oedipus victims, as they are not Polish.

 Logan gets to mix with the good and the bad. He has to interview a Catholic priest who defends the sanctity of the confessional while, at the same time, admitting he has nothing relevant to conceal on behalf of his parishioners.

 Neither the police nor the crims seem to be overly intelligent in this outing. Nonetheless,  the entire adventure is entertaining, witty and well plotted. Logan is probably the most convincing character but DI Steel is an attractive character, in a repulsive sort of way.

MacBride may have a way to go before he can compete with the very best writers of crime fiction,  but I doubt he has a great distance still to cover.
FIRST FAMILY
by David Baldacci
9780230736948
452 pages
MACMILLAN
June 1 2009
$32.99
reviewed by Denise Pickles
June 5 2009

David Baldacci never seems content with simple plots and this outing, which contains two central mysteries, is no exception to that rule.

At the beginning of the book, there is a birthday party for the pre-teen First Niece, Willa Dutton. Willaís aunt, Jane Cox, the First Lady, has arranged the party which is held at Camp David. The rejoicing is all too short-lived, however, since before the day is over, Willa has been kidnapped and her mother killed, albeit accidentally. The reader is given to understand that the man who organised the kidnapping, Sam Quarry, is not really a bad man, so it is obvious that the reason for him to organise such a terrible crime must be overpowering.

Jane Cox contacts Sean King, with whom she has had dealings before her husband became President, and arranges for him and his business partner, Michelle Maxwell, to take on the task of investigating the kidnapping and recovering Willa.

This is not the only mystery in the book, however. Michelleís mother is murdered, so of course Michelle wishes to investigate that crime.

There is an election  coming up. Jane is determined that her husband, the President, be reelected. It almost seems that the election could overshadow her concern for her niece. It seems, too, that other actions of her family should be kept secret from the general public in order to preserve the status of her husband.

Willa was not the only person to be kidnapped by Quarry. A woman going by the name of Diane Wohl has also been captured. She and Willa are kept in separate cells but Willa seems remarkably bolder than Diane and far more resourceful, as well.

As is usually the case in thrillers, victims always seem to keep secrets from investigators, and this mystery is no exception.

I felt that the characterisation in this piece is a little patchy.  Yes, Quarryís motivations ring true and Willa is a determined and admirable child, but the true baddies are more caricatures than characters. Maxwell and King are believable but the peripheral characters are less so.

While I was very caught up with the action as I wass reading the book, when I took a break and thought back over the narrative, I decided there were a few too many inconsistencies. Nonetheless, while I was reading, I admired the ìunputtdownableî factor  in Baldacciís prose which never seems to lose its grip.
IN HOVERING FLIGHT
by Joyce Hinnefeld
ISBN 9681741757583
262 pages
ALLEN & UNWIN
June 1 2009
$32.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
June 22 2009

IN HOVERING FLIGHT is an elegant novel written in lovely, elegant prose about striking creatures, both avian and human.

Cora, Lou and Addie are university students who sign up for a course in the Biology of Birds given by Tom Kavanagh, at Burnham College in Pennsylvania. Addie takes advantage of her field notebook to write notes to Tom and, almost inevitably, the two, both devoted to birds, fall in love with each other and marry.

The book begins after Addieís death from breast cancer. She has left instructions, for the disposal of her body, that tip over into the realms of the illegal.

Addie has always been passionate, from the time when she began to study and paint birds, to the modern day when she has taken up the cause of attempting to prevent the poisoning of the atmosphere and polluting of the habitat of birds. This has brought her into conflict, more latterly, with people wishing to build a housing development where previously birds have lived.

Scarlet is the daughter of Tom and Addie. Now in her mid-thirties, she is attempting to understand her mother. Addie is not the only person to have secrets, however. Scarlet is also concealing a secret from her parentsí friends.

This is a very well written book. Despite its moving from one time frame to another throughout the narrative, it does not give a feeling of disjointedness.

When Addie takes an interest in dead birds, taking it upon herself to learn to stuff them, an element of goriness enters the tale, but is not dwelt on.

The characters, other than Tom, Addie and Scarlet (named after a bird, the scarlet tanager) tend not to be distinguished as individuals, despite the libidinousness attributed to Addieís friend Lou. The book does not suffer, though, because how well differentiated does one find people in real life? The descriptions, the prose is what matters most in this work.
DIE FOR YOU
by Lisa Unger
ISBN 9781863255974
352 pages
BANTAM
June 1 2009
$32.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
June 29 2009

I have always found Lisa Unger the kind of author who grabs my attention and involves me in her writing as soon as I begin one of her books. DIE FOR YOU is certainly no exception to that rule.

The first person narrator is in very deep trouble, as becomes evident in the prologue. Isabel Raine is in ìCzechî looking for Kristof Ragan but instead of finding him, finds a most unfriendly policewoman, someone who seems to take an instant dislike to her.

Isabel Raine is an author who has been married to Marcus, a Czech, for five years. One morning, he kisses her goodbye-- then disappears from her quiet, successful world. The reader knows a little more than does Isabel, since the reader is made aware of Ivan, the man into whose car (or is it simply a car which Ivan is driving?) Marcus climbs.

Isabel is worried when Marcus doesnít return to their New York apartment that night. She rings her husbandís business partner trying to find out where Marcus could be but isnít reassured by Rickís lies.

The author does feel better, momentarily, when her mobile rings-- but although she knows the call comes from her husbandís phone, there is no reassuring message. Instead, there is an horrific, extended scream.

Isabel is horrified to learn that Marcus has emptied their bank accounts. Not only that, he has managed to cheat her sisterís family as well.

There are some interesting characters in this novel. Not only are the lives of Isabel and her sister examined but also that of Grady, one of the detectives. Marcus, too, is taken apart and his motives examined. He is certainly not the wonderful charmer with whom Isabel fell in love just over five years previously.

Just how credible are the people of the narrative? The baddies do tend to stretch the readerís suspension of disbelief somewhat, but then that is, paradoxically, what makes them quite so credible. The badness of the ìgoodî characters serves, too, to reinforce their credibility. The reader is able to see them as simply human.

To my mind, the chief attraction of this work is the authorís ability to involve her readers with only the occasional thought about ìHow could this happen?î possibly entering the readerís mind. Her prose is excellent, as are her descriptions. The narrative runs very smoothly, if one is able to discount any possible shivers of horror felt by the reader.
EMMAíS BABY
by Abbie Taylor
ISBN 9780593063798
314 pages
 BANTAM PRESS
June 1 2009
$32.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
July 3 2009

I have read plenty of  horror stories (i.e. books within the horror genre) in my time, but, to my way of thinking, this story about a mother whose baby has been stolen and to whom no one wishes to listen, raises more goose flesh on my arms than ever did the most gory vampire story I ever encountered, Bram Stoker notwithstanding. I can read loads of stories about banshees howling, people being set upon in graveyards and ominous shadows in badly lit rooms while a thunderstorm rages outside the windows and scarcely turn a hair, but let a child be threatened and.....

Emma is the tired single mother of a thirteen month-old child. Ritchie (I couldnít come to terms with the ìtî in his name,  something Iíve never encountered in Real Life with people named Richard) is trapped on a train in the London Underground, the doors having closed before Emma could hoist herself and her belongings onto the train with him. Fortunately, a woman calling herself Antonia, is in the carriage with him and takes the toddler off the train to return him to his mother at the next stop. Emma, of course, is thoroughly exhausted from the drama and willingly has coffee with Antonia. She takes her eyes off Ritchie and Antonia while she looks for some tissues in the toilets, but when she gets back to the table in the cafe, discovers Antonia and Ritchie have vanished.

The horror truly begins when Emma collapses, finds herself in hospital and no one seems to believe that her child has been stolen, but, instead think that Antonia owned Ritchie and Emma had approached them.

Emmaís claims are eventually validated and the search begins for the missing child and his kidnapper. although Emma is frustrated, feeling that more could be done, so takes it upon herself to try to find her son.

As I said previously, this is indeed a horror story, especially for anyone who has ever had a child, especially if that child has ever managed to go missing, however briefly. The author has managed to convey perfectly the panic that a mother would feel. The characterisation is quite well done-- the dispassionate, disinterested (not, I must emphasise, uninterested) face of officialdom and the effect that would have on a frantic mother.

There are other aspects, too. How often, during a young childís life might a young mother feel completely overwhelmed and wish, however transiently that the child be taken from her, that she no longer had the constant battle to look after them both?

Perhaps the only inconsistency I felt in the tale was that of Antoniaís husband. Could a sane, loving husband  possibly conspire with his obsessed wife to such a degree as to condone a crime of such a magnitude?
 

i found the book singularly absorbing and moving. My own son must have wondered at my ringing him in the middle of a work week, just to check he was healthy and happy, but thatís how much the book affected me!