Say Goodbye

by Lisa Gardner
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FBI-agent Kimberly Quincy is pregnant. And even though her husband who also works in law enforcement, in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, understands what drives her to do the work she does he would prefer for her to back down a bit now. But when his colleague Sal Martignetti calls in the middle of the night, asking that Kimberly come and interview a prostitute who claims to be one of Kimberly's contacts and refuses to talk to anyone else he still hands the phone over. Despite not recognising the name Delilah Rose she goes to the police station to meet her.

Delilah Rose too is pregnant. She tells a story of a man who calls himself Dinchara, an anagram for arachnid, a man obsessed with spiders who pays prostitutes to let him watch spiders moving over their naked bodies. She tells about prostitutes disappearing without anyone paying attention or caring. That she is afraid that Dinchara is behind these disappearances. She can't or is too afraid to reveal where Dinchara can be found. So there isn't much more Kimberly can do but give Delilah her card and her mobile phone number.

Soon Kimberly starts receiving disturbing phone calls. Someone is begging her for help and plays recordings of women being tortured and killed. Together with Sal she starts an investigation to find Dinchara and the missing prostitutes.

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It is interesting that there are so many female writers writing really horrific books, like for example Val McDermid and Karin Slaughter. They write books about what scares us the most, about crimes that it is difficult to protect yourself against and they don't shy away from describing in detail the most awful acts. Lisa Gardner is such a writer. This book deals with the abduction and abuse of children, children who are victimized and end up being abusers themselves.

Lisa Gardner is also what I would call a suspense writer. The book gives an insight into the perpetrator's thinking and it is soon apparent for the reader that the story is more complicated than the disappearance of some prostitutes and that Kimberly herself is in danger. So you read ahead as quickly as you can to find out how it is all going to end.

It is this drive forward that in some respects distracts a bit from other parts of the book worth exploring; Kimberly's dilemma around combining being a wife and mother with her strong identification as a law enforcement professional, the vulnerability of children and the complicated mechanisms that form or personalities, how we can become that which we hate the most.

I have read all of Lisa Gardner's books but was not so taken by this one. Perhaps it is a matter of timing or perhaps I am losing my taste for books of this kind. I would only recommend this book to someone who expressed a wish for a suspenseful horrific book with a female lead character.

Lisa Gardner has written the following novels:

Featuring the Quincy family
The Perfect Husband (1998) - Pierce Quincy
The Third Victim (2001) - Pierce Quincy, Rainie Conner
The Next Accident (2001) - Pierce Quincy, Rainie Conner
The Killing Hour (2003) - Kimberly Quincy
Gone (2006) - Pierce Quincy, Rainie Conner
Say Goodbye (2008) - Kimberly Quincy

Featuring Bobby Dodge and D.D. Warren in Boston Massachusetts
Alone (2005)
Hide (2007)

Non-series:
The Other Daughter (1999)
The Survivors Club (2002)

The Thirteenth Tale

by Diane Setterfield
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Margaret Lea works in her fathers antiquarian bookshop. Here she takes care of the books and reads her favourite 19th century literature; novels, diaries, letters and biographies. She has herself written a few author biographies in essay form, one of which about the brothers Jules and Edmond Landier was published in an anthology. Outside of this Margaret leads a reclusive life in her small apartment above the shop, socializing almost exclusively with her father and her books.

Then one day Margaret receives a letter from the writer Vida Winter. In her letter the writer confesses to considering the truth a poor supplier of succor or consolation compared to a story. Everything told about her life in interviews have therefore been lies, but now she feels the time has come to tell the truth. And she wants Margaret to document the true story about her life.

Margaret herself does not read contemporary writers, but she is familiar with Vida Winter. Vida has written 26 novels in as many years and her books has been translated into several other languages. Margaret has watched her father becoming all consumed when reading one of Vida's books but it is not until now that she picks one of them up for herself. Vidas writing fascinates Margaret and she goes to Yorkshire where she accepts the assignment under the condition that what she will be told really is the truth.

Vida's story is the story of the Angelfield family and its beginning takes place long before Vida is born. As the fantastic family saga is told circumstances of the now are also revealed, as is Margaret's story. Margaret's story is as Vida has suspected and what makes her most suited to relate to and understand Vida's story. Vida's story is what releases Margaret and increases her ability and wish to relate to other people.

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This book was recommended to me by one of my friends and I am really thankful to her for doing that. I really liked this book. It is a "proper" novel with a beginning, a middle and an end. Literally; the book is divided into three sections; Beginnings, Middles and Endings. It is also what I would call a rich book; the language is rich and varied, it is rich in settings, ambiences, character and events. It is filled with mysteries that have to be explained and keep you captive.

I like that this is a book that takes me to another world. A world that can seem unreal, dark and at times ghostly, but that isn't political or filled with social criticism but focuses on human beings and their relationships and destinies. I recommend this book to anyone looking for some escapism.

Dying Light

by Stuart MacBride
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Detective Sergeant Logan McRae who has up until now been Aberdeen's police hero is in big trouble. A colleague has been seriously injured in a raid planned and conducted by McRae. He is moved to another unit, one infamously known as the "F**k up"-squad.

Despite it being summer and sunny Aberdeen is showing itself from its darkest side. Someone screws the doors and windows of a building shut before setting it on fire. Five young people and an infant are trapped inside and burned to death. In another part of town a prostitute, Rosie Williams, is found naked and beaten to death.

Worrying about his future and under the guidance of a new superior he doesn't trust McRae has to prove his competence and solve the murder of Rosie Williams. Despite his best efforts it's not long before another prostitute is found dead. And at the same time his old boss is involving him in the investigation of the arson.

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This book is most of all a procedural. It depicts how police work is conducted by teams and how procedures must be followed to allow all members of the team to convey and receive information on progress made. But it is also about the lives of police officers who mostly socialise with other police officers and who are forced to have frequent contact with Aberdeen's criminals and beaten. About lives where work has to be given priority, often at the expence of a functional personal life. It is grey, it is brutal, and at times it is infuriatingly slow.

What makes this book good, in my opinion, are the same things that sometimes annoy me. Logan McRae is emotional and impulsive. It is easy to identify with his thoughts and worries. But McRae often allows these worries to consume him and loses his focus. As a reader it irritates me when he misses information that would have lead him closer to solving the case. He will also jump to conclusions and launch into actions that only put him deeper into trouble. But these characteristics are also what makes him believable and his basic nature of compassion and dedication to justice is what makes me like him and root for him.

On the basis of this, and because of the humour hidden among all the darkness I would recommend this book. However, it is truly brutal and contains some really horrific descriptions and scenes that you have to able to tolerate.

Stuart MacBride has written the following novels:

Featuring DS Logan McRae in Aberdeen, Scotland:
Cold Granite (2005)
Dying Light (2006)
Broken Skin (2007)
also published as Bloodshot
Flesh House (2008)

Non-series:
Sawbones (2008)

Red Cat

by Peter Spiegelman
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John March is a private investigator in New York. Events in his past has turned him into somewhat of a loner and he has promised himself never to allow the dangers associated with his work to get mixed up with his private life.

But then one of his brothers asks him for help. David March has had a short affair with a young woman he knows only as Wren. Wren is now stalking him, threatening to make their affair public unless he agrees to see her again. David wants John to find out who Wren really is and warn her off.

John is already making progress in his investigation when a woman's body is fished out of East River. The police has yet to identify the woman and publishes a photo of a distinguishing mark; a tattoo of a red cat. Realising that the dead woman most likely is Wren and that David now risks being a murder suspect John has to find the real killer before the police finds David.

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This is a really good PI-story. But I think you have to really like this genre to like this book. The characters and their motivations are not ignored, but the focus is the life and work of the private investigator and his interpretations of people, events and behaviours. The book plays it straight with the reader all the way; everything John March discovers is revealed to us, but nothing more. He doesn't realise at the very beginning who the murderer is, and there is no hidden clue that the reader should have noticed to come to the same conclusion. We follow March from clue to clue until all the pieces fall into place as the case is finally solved.

John March is in many ways a classic private investigator; he is the black sheep of the family, he has a background with the police, he has a past that has scarred him, he no longer drinks alcohol but tries to maintain a healthy lifestyle but tends to keep other people at somewhat of a distance. He is not depicted as a tough guy, one that hits first and asks questions later, but an intelligent and compassionate, modern person who works in a structured way, uses the internet for fact finding and keeps detailed notes of his cases and their progress.

I really liked John March and this book, and I wish I had started with the first book in the series. I recommend this book to anyone who likes PI-stories.

Peter Spiegelman has written the following novels:

Featuring John March, private investigator in New York:
Black Maps (2003)
Death's Little Helpers (2005)
Also published as: No Way Home
Red Cat (2007)