Okay, I’ll admit it… I picked up this book because I’m a sucker for anything set in Ireland. I’ve only been reading cozy mysteries for a couple of years, so without that, I’m not sure that this book would have been on my radar. I am glad that I found it, though. A lot of the draw for me was the setting. I’ve spent some time in Dublin and found myself recognizing landmarks mentioned in the story. Obviously, that won’t be a factor for anybody unfamiliar with the city, but I do think that the author does a good job of painting a picture of Dublin and letting readers get a taste of what it’s like. In other respects, the book has a lot of the things that make a cozy mystery so engaging: a couple of adorable dogs; quirky characters; an intriguing mystery; and a bit of romance thrown in for good measure. I do have to give a shout-out to the fact that the main character, Megan, is a female Army veteran with training as a medic. While a lot of cozy mysteries have a female main character, it’s nice to see one with a less-than-usual backstory. Think of this as a “comfort read” for the run-up to St. Patrick’s Day. Dead in Dublin is a fun read and it’s well worth investing your time in this series.
Category: Fiction
Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
My first exposure to Anthony Horowitz’s novels was through the recommendation of a co-worker. He told me about a book he was reading called The Word is Murder, and although I wasn’t really into mysteries at that time, I was intrigued enough to pick it up. It’s not too much to say that that book was one of my gateways into the mystery genre. I’ve been following the series ever since (which continued with The Sentence is Death, A Line to Kill, and the upcoming The Twist of a Knife). Magpie Murders has been on my to-read list for a while, but it’s only recently that I read it, and I’m a bit ashamed to say that it’s because of TV that I finally did so. The show Masterpiece Theater has begun running a series based on this book, and after the first couple of episodes, I had to know whodunnit. This book is a two-for-the-price-of-one kind of book: Roughly the first half is a story about a detective named Atticus Pünd and the case involving the murder of a country gentleman, but the second half abruptly moves into the “present day” and follows the editor of the book you’ve just been reading. Susan Ryeland has realized that the novel is missing its final pages, and so she has no clue who Pünd finally names as the killer. And as everyone knows, you can’t have a whodunnit if you never find out who done it. Her quest to find the missing pages is complicated when the author dies, apparently by suicide… or was it? Admittedly, I was a bit taken aback by the fact that the novel doesn’t interweave the stories more, but I can see where the book’s structure wouldn’t work for a TV show. Once I got past that realization, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Pünd comes across as a gentle soul, dedicated to the truth after having seen the ultimate evil in the Nazi concentration camps. Ryeland, something of an alter-ego for Pünd, is intelligent and driven, and I was able to appreciate the creative wit involved in writing a character who edits crime fiction and is trying to apply what she’s learned from that to solving an actual murder. Horowitz is clever with his clues in both stories, so when you get to the end, you can look back and see where the author misled you while telling you exactly what you’re seeing. I didn’t see any loose ends and was able to appreciate the red herrings that are perfectly logical but which lead you in exactly the wrong direction. Some of this may be because I’m new to the mystery genre, but as far as I’m concerned, in this respect it’s a job well done. I have to give a shout-out to the setting. Murder in fiction seems to have something quintessentially English about it, and this novel leans into this feeling by having the Pünd storyline set in a small English village in the…
Point of View by Patrick Bard
I want to preface this review by saying that this is a novel that was translated from its original French. I wasn’t aware of that when I picked it up, and that wouldn’t have affected whether or not I read it, but I feel like I need to note this. I think this fact has a lot of bearing on my opinion of this book. And mostly, my opinion isn’t that good. I highly applaud the author for tackling the subject matter–porn addiction is a real thing, and it can happen to teens as readily as it can to anyone else with an internet connection–but I found the writing style to be annoying. This is why I mentioned that it’s a book in translation, because I wonder how much of this is due to the fact that I’m not reading it in its original form. I also have to acknowledge, however, that translation alone wouldn’t account for the writing. Chapters from Lucas’s point of view often read as clunky, and the rule of “Show, don’t tell” is broken fairly often. It does get better as the book progresses and the author isn’t trying to sum up several years’ worth of addictive behavior in a short amount of time. Once Lucas is in a recovery program, the narrative flows a little more smoothly. Also, I wanted to punch his father. There’s a secondary plotline about how Lucas’s mother suffers from depression, and Lucas’s father treats her terribly. Yes, living with someone with depression can be challenging. No, it does not help to treat that person like their condition is a character flaw. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel that the effect of that kind of environment on the family was addressed really well, and that annoyed me. This is a teen novel that I have to give a hard pass to. Tackling an issue like this is tricky, and Bard didn’t do it very well.
Feed by Mira Grant
Zombie novels have show up on bookshelves more and more lately. They’ve even invaded the classics, as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies can attest. But how often are these tales any more than spatter-fests? Mira Grant–a pseudonym of Seanan McGuire–has transcended the normal tropes to write Feed, a socio-political story about a world after a zombie apocalypse. The cures for cancer and the common cold have combined to create a virus that literally uses any mammal over 40 pounds as a mule: Once dead, the body will rise again, seeking to infect others and sustain itself by feeding on living flesh. There is no cure, and no hope of escaping the inevitable rising, short of a bullet to the skull. Siblings Georgia and Shaun are news bloggers, sharing their views on a United States infected with the living dead. After winning a coveted slot to follow a senator on the campaign trail for the presidency, they begin to realize that the world may be even more complicated than they knew. And there’s more to the presence of the infected than anybody could imagine, even in their worst nightmares. Georgia and Shaun may be putting their lives on the line for a chance at the truth. Grant has done a stellar job of creating an America populated with zombies. She has thought through the events leading to this calamity, the social aspects of a country forced to face such a crisis, and the political ramifications of a presidential campaign in such a world. In fact, the majority of the novel focuses on the culture itself, and not the zombies, and this works wonderfully. And yes, there’s plenty of zombie killing to satisfy bloodthirsty readers. Once one-third of the way through the book, I knew it was a strong candidate to become the best zombie novel I’ve ever read. The prose reads like the best action flick; the events are gripping and realistic; and the characters face dangers that will make readers cringe. I’m not ashamed to say that I cried twice while reading. So, if you like emotionally affecting stories with a smattering of the undead, be sure to choose Feed. It’s edgy, challenging and emotionally affecting.
Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi
Jack Holloway works alone, for reasons he doesn’t care to talk about. Hundreds of miles from ZaraCorp’s headquarters on planet, 178 light-years from the corporation’s headquarters on Earth, Jack is content as an independent contractor, prospecting and surveying at his own pace. As for his past, that’s not up for discussion. Then, in the wake of an accidental cliff collapse, Jack discovers a seam of unimaginably valuable jewels, to which he manages to lay legal claim just as ZaraCorp is cancelling their contract with him for his part in causing the collapse. Briefly in the catbird seat, legally speaking, Jack pressures ZaraCorp into recognizing his claim, and cuts them in as partners to help extract the wealth. But there’s another wrinkle to ZaraCorp’s relationship with the planet Zarathustra. Their entire legal right to exploit the verdant Earth-like planet, the basis of the wealth they derive from extracting its resources, is based on being able to certify to the authorities on Earth that Zarathustra is home to no sentient species. Then a small furry biped—trusting, appealing, and ridiculously cute—shows up at Jack’s outback home. Followed by its family. As it dawns on Jack that despite their stature, these are people, he begins to suspect that ZaraCorp’s claim to a planet’s worth of wealth is very flimsy indeed…and that ZaraCorp may stop at nothing to eliminate the “fuzzys” before their existence becomes more widely known. Being a fan of the original novels, I approached this retelling with a little trepidation. I know that Scalzi is an excellent writer, but would his vision of the fuzzies and their world work for me, either by itself or as compared to the original? I’m happy to say that it does both, and wonderfully. While the bones of the original novel remain in this new novel, there are some significant changes. Jack Holloway was conceived by Piper as an older man, well past his prime. Scalzi paints Jack as a man in his mid-thirties, and he gives him the background to allow him to actively participate in the fight to prove the fuzzies’s sentience. This brings a lot more tension to the final scenes in the courtroom, as it allows the main character to be right in the middle of the action. I enjoyed watching him whip out legal arguments and wield them like weapons. There’s also a change in the history of the fuzzies themselves. Without giving anything away, Piper’s novels glossed over something that could be seen as a plot loophole invalidating much of what happens in the first book. Later authors picked up on this and ran with it. Scalzi’s change neatly deals with that little problem. I will admit, however, that after decades of having one story in the back of my head, the change was jarring upon first encountering it. I soon accepted it, though, and as most readers won’t have read the original novels, I doubt it will be an issue to the majority of readers. The author weaves in…
Aftertime by Sophie Littlefield
“Awakening in a bleak landscape as scarred as her body, Cass Dollar vaguely recalls surviving something terrible. Having no idea how many weeks have passed, she slowly realizes the horrifying truth: Ruthie has vanished. And with her, nearly all of civilization. Where once-lush hills carried cars and commerce, the roads today see only cannibalistic Beaters…
VIII by H. M. Castor
“VIII is the story of Hal: a young, handsome, gifted warrior, who believes he has been chosen to lead his people. But he is plagued by the ghosts of his family’s violent past and once he rises to power, he turns to murder and rapacious cruelty. He is Henry VIII.” I have an odd fascination…
The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe
“It starts with an itch you just can’t shake. Then comes a fever and a tickle in your throat. A few days later, you’ll be blabbing your secrets and chatting with strangers like they’re old friends. Three more, and the paranoid hallucinations kick in. And then you’re dead. When sixteen-year-old Kaelyn lets her best friend…
A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan
“You, dear reader, continue at your own risk. It is not for the faint of heart—no more so than the study of dragons itself. But such study offers rewards beyond compare: to stand in a dragon’s presence, even for the briefest of moments—even at the risk of one’s life—is a delight that, once experienced, can…
The Martian by Andy Weir
I picked up this book on a recommendation from a friend. As a note, I don’t usually read a lot of hard science fiction, although I do enjoy science in general. I think it’s more that I don’t like when the plot hangs on technology. In this case, there’s a lot of gadgetry and clever manipulation of scientific principles, but the real story hinges on Mark’s ingenuity in figuring out how to leverage his circumstances in his favor. Now, this does mean that the narration often strays into (or at least comes perilously close to) the “As You Know” trope. The majority of the novel consists of Mark’s log entries during his stay on Mars, and he spends a lot of time explaining what he’s doing, both in scientific jargon and simpler layman’s terms. The folks on the ground trying to help Mark get home have lots of meetings where they do something similar. It’s a little jarring, but the author does provide a rationalization: Mark is keeping the logs for public consumption, figuring that whether he lives or dies, he should leave a complete record of what happened; the NASA people come from fairly specialized backgrounds and often must share information with others who aren’t knowledgeable in that area. I will say this, though—the science is fascinating. This is basically Robinson Crusoe in space, but with the main character adrift in an environment that’s infinitely more hostile than any desert island. I don’t think that anybody reading this book will have any doubt that Mark will eventually be rescued. The fun lies in the how of the event. We get to see crop growing in an enclosed environment, use of radioactive materials, exploding chemicals, messages spelled out with rocks, and epic cross country treks. You can’t go for too long without reading about some catastrophe that requires Mark’s boundless creativity. I am going to call the author out on one mistake, however—and it’s a mistake that should not have been made with a character who is a botanist. In one scene, Mark is shown eating raw potatoes. This is a huge no-no, as raw potatoes are indigestible (and much is made of how much caloric intake he needs per day) and, depending on how long they’ve had to grow, mildly toxic. I can’t see someone well-versed in plant life and farm crops being so silly as to eat something that won’t help him survive. Aside from this, the science seems accurate and is definitely engrossing. I read this book right after finishing a couple of other non-fiction titles, so it provided a good transition back to fiction. All this science does a good job of supporting the narrative and giving Mark plenty of believable ways to survive in Mars’s hostile environment. And one other note: there’s lots of humor here as well. No stuffy NASA-approved dialogues for Mark! He’s crass and honest and highly amusing, even while struggling for his life. The Martian is a great book on space…