Review of "Watchman: An Espionage Novel" by Ian Rankin

This espionage novel is one of Ian Rankin's early books, written before he started the John Rebus detective series. In this story, Miles Flint is a British spy, a "watchman" who surveils individuals suspected of illegal/terrorist activity in London. 

While watching an Arab suspect in a hotel lobby Flint gets distracted by a beautiful woman. 

The suspect - an assassin - gets away and kills an Israeli man. 

Flint thinks the woman was sent purposely and starts to look into the incident. Soon afterward, having trouble at home, Flint spends a few nights in a residence where fellow British agents are spying on suspected Irish terrorists. This surveillance is called off prematurely and Flint starts to think something isn't kosher in his spy agency.

Next thing you know Flint is sent to northern Ireland on assignment and things go badly wrong. His suspicions confirmed, Flint sets out to uncover the dirty secrets people are trying to hide. There are a lot of similar characters in this story and you have to pay close attention to remember who's who. Not as good as the Rebus books but it's an okay espionage novel.

Rating: 3 stars

Review of "As I Lay Dying: A Novel" by William Faulkner

This book is narrated by numerous characters - each from their own point of view - in a stream of consciousness style. Thus it takes time, effort, and concentration for the reader to catch on to the subtleties of the story, including: the characters' states of mind, secrets, and in one case - psychosis. 

Basically the story is about the Bundren family of Mississippi taking the corpse of their wife/mother, Addie Bundren, to be buried in her distant hometown - as she has requested. 

Because of self-imposed delays in securing the appropriate carriage;

 Storms wiping out bridges, and the tragic death of their mules;

A family member's broken leg and more - the events of a black comedy essentially  - the trip to the cemetery takes well over a week.....as the corpse decomposes and stinks to high heaven.

The patriarch of the Bundren family is Anse, a lazy, n'er do well, disrespected in the community. The Bundren children are: Cash - talented carpenter; Darl - insightful and well-spoken young man; Jewel - impulsive youth; Dewey Dell - adolescent daughter; and Vardamon - school-age child. Other characters include local people in the community - minister, doctor, neighbors, etc. 


Anse 


Cash 


Darl 


Jewel 


Dewey Dell 


Vardamon 

In the course of the story various characters exhibit a variety of behaviors including gallantry, foolishness, infidelity, fear, selfishness, kindness, meanness, and more - which for me, etched them in my mind. Though some people in the story are not particularly likable, most of the characters are (at least) engaging and memorable.

This is a good book, quite interesting, but it's best for readers who don't mind putting a lot of effort into their pleasure reading.

Rating: 4 stars

Review of "A Passage to India: A Novel" by E.M. Forster

This book is a classic, but its motifs of culture clash and racialism strike an unfortunate chord in current times.

*****

The plot revolves around an Englishwoman who wrongly accuses a Muslim Indian doctor of attempting to assault her while they're visiting mystical Indian caves. Set in a time when the British controlled India, the book has several sub-themes.



One is the condescending attitude and behavior of the Brits toward the Indian people and the consequent mistrust and dislike the Indians felt toward the Brits. Another is the vast cultural divide that made friendship almost impossible between the Indians and Brits at that time.







My problem with the book is that many of the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that E.M. Forster attributed to the Indian people don't ring true to me. It feels like the author's personal attitudes about India were foisted onto the native characters.....and not in a favorable way.

Nevertheless, it's an interesting story, lyrically told, and gives little glimpses into the Hindu and Muslim customs of old India.

Rating: 3 stars

Review of "Holy Orders: A Dr. Quirke Mystery" by Benjamin Black

In this sixth book in the 'Quirke' series, the pathologist helps the police investigate the murder of a journalist. We also learn more about Quirke and his daughter. The book can be read as a standalone.



*****

Young journalist Jimmy Minor is found beaten to death in Dublin and the pathologist, Dr. Quirke, realizes the dead man is a friend of his daughter Phoebe.



As usual Dr. Quirke teams up with police Inspector Hackett to investigate the crime.



Though ostensibly a murder mystery this book is more of a character study than a detective story. Quirke and Hackett discover that Jimmy was pursuing a story involving a Catholic priest and a community of Irish tinkers (gypsies). This leads the hard-drinking Quirke to brood about his childhood as an unhappy resident of Catholic orphan homes, where he was severely mistreated. At the same time Quirke starts to experience hallucinations that he can't separate from reality.



Meanwhile Quirke's daughter Phoebe is also disturbed: she's upset about Jimmy's murder and is unsure about her romance with Quirke's assistant David. In addition, Phoebe still has mixed feelings toward Quirke, who she recently learned was her father and not the uncle she always thought he was.



As the story proceeds Phoebe befriends Jimmy's sister Sally, a London journalist, and the ladies - as well as David - develop an awkward friendship that preys on Phoebe's mind.

In the midst of all this introspection Quirke and Hackett solve Jimmy's murder - a solution that contains few surprises. I prefer my murder mysteries to have more detective work than was displayed here but the book does provide interesting insight into the personalities of Quirke and Phoebe. Recommended to fans of the series.

Rating: 3 stars

Review of "Broken Promise: Promise Falls #1" by Linwood Barclay

When his newspaper shuts down widowed journalist David Harwood and his son Ethan move in with David's parents in Promise Falls, New York.



One morning, as a favor to his mother, David brings some prepared food to his cousin Marla - a troubled young woman whose baby died at birth nearly a year ago.



Since then Marla has been consumed by grief and once even tried to snatch a baby from the hospital. Luckily for Marla this was hushed up by her mother, the hospital's top administrator.

When David gets to Marla's house he's shocked to find that she's feeding a baby, who she claims was dropped off by 'an angel.' Marla says the baby, named Matthew, now belongs to her, and insists that David take her shopping for a crib and baby accoutrements.



As it happens 'the angel' left a stroller with the baby and David finds an address in the folds of the pram. Ostensibly taking Marla shopping, David drives to the address and - lo and behold - finds a bloody dead woman in the house.



Of course the police suspect that Marla committed the murder, and David, concerned for his cousin, agrees to try to help her.

During his inquiries David speaks to the dead woman's husband and doctor, and tries to find the baby's nanny - who seems to be missing.



Meanwhile Promise Falls is having a rash of other crimes. Twenty-plus dead squirrels were hung from a fence;



three mannequins were found riding the Ferris wheel of a defunct amusement park;



and several girls were assaulted on the campus of a local college.



Detective Barry Duckworth, a 20-year veteran of the Promise Falls Police Department, is lead investigator on all these cases. Duckworth is a capable intuitive cop, good at connecting the dots - but clues seem to be scarce.



Duckworth assigns his temporary assistant, uniformed cop Angus Carlson, to look into the squirrels, Ferris wheel, and assaults - but Carlson is less than enthusiastic about this.



This is the first book of a series and various characters seem likely to show up in future stories. These include David's mom Arlene - who's starting to show signs of dementia;



David's dad Don - who has a dark secret;



disgraced former mayor Randall Finley - a weasel who's going to make another run for the job;



Samantha (Sam) Worthington - the pretty mother of a school bully;



and Angus Carlson, who hopes to make detective.

Linwood is a deft hand at characterization and every character has unique issues. Overweight Detective Duckworth is doing his best to avoid those tempting chocolate-frosted donuts. Sleazy ex-mayor (and would-be blackmailer) Finlay is trying to find dirt on people. Sam Worthington - in the midst of a dirty custody fight - routinely answers the door holding a gun. Arlene is trying to get her son David remarried. Carlson wants to impress his wife and has mother issues; and so on.

I enjoyed this well-written book, which has some shocking moments and unexpected twists. My major objection to the story are the loose ends at the book's end. I think a mystery novel - of all genres - should wrap up cleanly. Still, I'll probably read the next book in the series to (hopefully) find out what's what.

I'd recommend this book to mystery fans.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "The Snowman: A Harry Hole Mystery" by Jo Nesbo

In this 7th book in the 'Harry Hole' series, Police Inspector Harry Hole investigates a number of disappearances/murders in Norway - which he suspects is the work of a serial killer.



Over about twenty years a number of women have disappeared, and one is known dead. In each case the woman is married and a mother. In a bizarre twist, a snowman has been left at the site of each disappearance, in one case wearing the pink scarf and containing the cell phone of the victim. This and an anonymous note sent to Harry lead to the killer being dubbed "The Snowman."



Harry and his new partner Katrine Bratt, along with a small task force, are assigned to the case.



When Harry and his team uncover a connection among the women a number of possible suspects come to light - one after another - each seeming to have a possible motive. Meanwhile, Harry struggles with his alcoholism while the love of his life, Rakel, prepares to move in with another man. On the lighter side Harry takes time to maintain his bond with Rakel's son Oleg and deals with a mold exterminator who dismantles his apartment.



The characters in the story are well-developed, interesting, and often quirky and there are plenty of twists and turns. The book races along to a dramatic climax - where the murderer plans to stage a grande finale.



A compelling, well-written thriller, highly recommended.

Rating: 4 stars