Wednesday 25 January 2012

Book review: Messiah by Boris Starling

MessiahMessiah by Boris Starling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've been waiting to read this book ever since I watched the TV series years ago. I vaguely remembered something about silver spoons in the place of tongues and people being killed like the apostles. So I hired the series and watched it, with all its gore, violence and exceptional acting from Ken Stott, Jamie Draven and Neil Dudgeon.
So unfortunately I went into this book knowing who the killer was. I wish I didn't do this to myself because if I hadn't known I would've given it five stars. Within the first forty pages, we're two murders in. Starling isn't shy of gruesome detail and the idea for the plot, how the victims are killed etc is total genius! Again if I hadn't known I wouldn't have figured it out.
I am going to hunt out any other books by Boris Starling and immerse myself in them. This truly is a fantastic book.

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Thursday 19 January 2012

Book review: Blackhouse by Peter May

BlackhouseBlackhouse by Peter May
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was recommended to me by my Mum who had read it and loved it. She absolutely adores Scotland and that's why she loved this book so much. I went in with an open mind, I (mostly) trust her judgement. There were parts of this book that I loved. The murder mystery itself was brilliant, victim that you love and hate and a lead character with a great deal of history.
Learning all about Fin McLeod and his childhood is really interesting and is definitely different to your regular murder mystery. Very rarely do you know so much about a main character and his relationship to the victim. In fact, Fin's life story is probably more interesting than the murder mystery.
I did think there were some parts of the story that were a bit bogged down. At one stage Peter May did describe a whole sequence to repairing a computer which was completely unnecessary!
But really, it's the island that Fin is from that gives this book character and intrigue and the soap fan in me loves a scandal. I read until the end partly to find out who the murderer was and partly to find out who was the father of young Fin!

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Tuesday 10 January 2012

Book review: Birdman by Mo Hayder

Birdman (Jack Caffery #1)Birdman by Mo Hayder
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This has been my favourite book of the year so far and it's hard to explain why. You jump, feet first, into the murder. It's almost like going underwater, you have to take a deep breath, and it's not until you've finished that you can breathe again. Mo Hayder has a brilliant, if rather gruesome imagination, and reading the detailed descriptions of the bodies and the acts taking place, can at times make you feel physically sick. For me, that's part of the reason why I loved it. To get such a strong reaction from a book is fantastic.
This book took me no time at all to read. At the time, I was travelling across the country and spent the whole time glued to the pages. At times it made me gasp and pull faces. I'm sure I got plenty of strange looks from other train passengers.
In the end, the person I hated most was Veronica, I won't give my reasons on here. But I cannot wait to read the next Jack Caffery book!

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Sunday 8 January 2012

Book review: A Roomful of Bones by Elly Griffiths

A Room Full of BonesA Room Full of Bones by Elly Griffiths
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love Elly Griffiths! I read her books in days, even hours if I have a free weekend! The characters of Ruth Galloway and Harry Nelson keep me coming back time and time again, more than the murders do!
The way it's written is excellent. Because it's in the present tense, everything feels so current, like the events are happening somewhere in the world at the exact moment you're reading them. As always, the characters jump off the page. I love Cathbad. He always manages to keep Ruth's world on the right side of crazy.
My only downside for this book, was that the murder wasn't really a murder after all. I also missed Nelson. I won't spoil it for anyone, but Ruth and Nelson's relationship is half of the reason why I come back each time!
Now I can't wait for the next one! I just wish I didn't have to wait for so long!

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Thursday 5 January 2012

Book review: Ordinary Thunderstorms by William Boyd

Ordinary ThunderstormsOrdinary Thunderstorms by William Boyd
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was the most recent book club book, and I went into it with an open mind. It wasn't the normal thing we'd normally read.
For a start, it had the pull. I kept thinking one more chapter until I finally finished it, although the ending was disappointing. I was waiting for there to be a big reveal and a confrontation, but obviously the author is setting up a sequel.
The main think that annoyed me about this book was how unrealistic it all was. I understand that it isn't going to be that truthful, but it was so far out there it was ridiculous. The main character was a bit thick initially. I found myself shouting at him inside my head to stop being so stupid. Who would touch a bloody knife? Why didn't he draw out a load of money at the beginning and then gone into hiding? Anyway, after I got over my frustration, I found it quite enjoyable.
In the end, an alright book, but I won't be in any hurry to read the sequel.

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