Thursday 30 May 2013

Book Review: The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz

The House of SilkThe House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was recommended to me by the owner of my local bookshop Booka. I'm working my way through the complete collection of Sherlock Holmes very slowly as the book is mahoosive and I can't take it anywhere with me.
The House of Silk is a brilliant, rip-roaring read, full of Victorian urchins, mystery, intrigue and horse and carriage chases.
Anthony Horowitz is a great writer and I had no problem imagining Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. The prologue which explains why the book was only recently published is also a nice added touch.
As always with Holmes, the plot is complicated with twists and turns on every page. The way Horowitz details Watson and Holmes' relationship and how much Watson cares for Holmes is lovely to read as a lover of these stories.
The reader is propelled into Victorian London with all of it's charm and characters and you are gripped from beginning to end trying to work out how everything is linked. I also think Horowitz dealt with a delicate subject matter very well without sounding preachy or going on about the 'message'.
And for me, despite their series being set in modern London I pictured Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as the aforementioned characters. I really hope Horowitz decides to write another Holmes novel as I enjoyed this one immensely.

View all my reviews

Wednesday 22 May 2013

Book Review: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Hercule Poirot, #4)The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'd heard that this book was amazing when it came out. That it was groundbreaking, and shocked all of it's readers. So I went into The Murder of Roger Ackroyd with excitement and anticipation.
Don't get me wrong, I love Agatha Christie and the characters she creates. I love Hercule Poirot although I always picture David Suchet in my head, and I love how the plot unravels bit by bit.
Poirot sees so much that other people miss, and it's clever how information is deduced.
My only complain, and it's my fault as opposed to the author's, and that's I worked out the ending. I like being held in suspense until the last minute, so for me I was disappointed. But, for it's time The Murder of Roger Ackroyd would have been shocking and an ending nobody saw coming. Unfortunately this isn't the 1930's. I look forward to my next Christie novel!

View all my reviews

Sunday 12 May 2013

Book Review: The Invisible Ones by Stef Penney

The Invisible OnesThe Invisible Ones by Stef Penney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I haven't been able to go to A Book And A Beer Club in aaaaages because of my shift pattern. But now that my shift has changed I still can't go. But I've started reading the books to catch up and get back in to the swing of things.
I'd never heard of Stef Penney or her other books so I had no expectations going into this book. The Invisible Ones follows a private investigator called Ray and a fourteen year old boy called JJ as Ray investigates the disappearance of a woman named Rose Janko.
Following both narratives keeps it interesting, and it helps the reader understand more about this community of people. I also liked the glossary of words at the beginning of the book.
Overall, this is a different kind of missing persons case. I found it interesting, and as I was reading I felt myself getting sucked in without even realising it.
Although I've heard this is different to Stef Penney's other work, I am looking forward to reading it.


View all my reviews

Thursday 2 May 2013

Book Review: Caught by Harlan Coben

CaughtCaught by Harlan Coben
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The first Harlan Coben book I read took me less than twenty four hours. I read it solid, couldn't put it down. Since then I have been a massive fan of his. I prefer the stand alone novels to the Myron Bolitar series and one or two of the books I found a little predictable or I guessed the ending, (which I don't like to do!) but this wasn't one of them.
We first meet Dan Mercer, the coach for a hockey team of foster and orphan children. He's going to see a girl named Chynna who needs his help. As soon as he arrives he gets jumped on by a camera crew led by reporter Wendy Tynes, who picks up the narrative from then on.
I like the way Coben writes Dan Mercer, you feel like you're in his head and that you understand the man. From the off I got a judgement of him and I never doubted him. I won't say too much because I'll give away the story.
Wendy Tynes is a decent female lead, and strong, which I particularly admire, but can be a little annoying at times. Her sense of humour is great, and she gets sarcastic quickly which I relate to. Her faith in the other characters is also interesting.
The only thing that I didn't really like about this story is the American High School stuff, and I know, seeing as it's set in America and about a missing school girl, it has to be, but I find it all a bit cringey. The couples are all high school sweethearts and I doubt that's the case in real life.
The ending also fell a bit flat for me. I had my sneaking suspicions all along that it had to be one of a few people, so I wasn't shocked at the ending, not as much as I like to be at the end of a Harlan Coben thriller!

View all my reviews