Nick Drake - Tutankhamun

This is the second in the series featuring Rahotep, detective in ancient Egypt. The first book concerned Nefertiti, see below, we now move on to the reign of Tutankhamun.

This novel was fast paced, and despite us knowing the story had some interesting 'takes' on the plot surrounding the death of Tut. It was also nicely interwoven with the solving of the crimes perpetrated by a serial killer, which gave the book some suspense.

This is shaping up to be a great series and a must for anyone interested in the time. I look forward to the next. A great holiday read....

Michele Guittari - A Florentine Death

I am still in Florence mode I took these on holiday with me. Michele is the former head of the Florence police and so these books are very more police procedural and forensic. More Kathy Reichs than Agatha Christie.

This first book introduces us to our detective Michele Ferrara. It concerns a serial killer. It also describes the activities of the mafia! I really enjoyed it. However the language seemed a little stilted and the dialogue did not flow so well. I wondered whether it was because he was not a natural writer or whether is was the translation. I felt he needed to bulk it up a bit to make the most of the location.

I also took with me the second book in the series and I think that may be what the editor worked on. Here we discovered a lot more of the town and landscape and the language improved and flowed better. This was an excellent read and very gripping. It involved a paedophile ring. We also kept up the theme of uncovering the dealings of the Mafia. A thoroughly and absorbing read, a very exciting ending.

This is the third in the series and gets off to a cracking start with a bomb in the centre of Florence. I feel Michele has really got into the genre now of writing not only a gripping crime novel, a police procedural but also a tourist satisfying read with all the restaurants, bars and sights described. Think, a grittier Donna Leon.

I am really looking forward to the next installment. They are good to read in order as the characters progress, change and move on as the series progresses!

Christobel Kent - A Time of Mourning

I am a big fan of Christobel Kent, mainly because she sets her books in Italy! I have just been to Florence so I read this as a teaser before I went.

I have read A Party in San Niccolo,The Summer House, and A Florentine Revenge previously.

In this book Christobel focuses on the policeman from A Florentine Revenge and it looks like this is to be the start of a series. I like it because she clearly knows and loves Florence so we get a real feel for the city. Also her detective Sandro, now a private detective due to the events in the previous novel, is so human with real characteristics and flaws, you really feel that you are inside a real person. A great read, an old fashioned crime novel, little blood and no forensics, just good detection......

Sarah Waters - The Little Stranger

I don't know what it is but I just do not like books that are nominated for awards any more. This book seems to have been nominated for loads of things so I had high hopes. I have also read Tipping the Velvet and Fingersmith and loved them.

Sarah writes beautifully, and her characters are well crafted, however it is the subject matter that failed to live up to my expectations. The trouble is this is a haunted house story and all the way through I had this sense of deja vu. ( I have read a very similar book, The Thirteenth Tale and really enjoyed it see below). The focus on the dying of a way of life, as reflected in the metaphor of the neglected and falling apart house was also well done. This is post WW2 Britain and it is this inability of the aristocratic family to change that causes the problems. I can only assume it is from this angle that the book has been nominated.

Although as I said the characters were well drawn, none of them were very likeable and therefor I was not invested in any of them. The haunting frankly was not very scary and I just wanted to slap most of the characters.

However, for this reason I think it would make a good Reading Group book as if I had this reaction I am sure there are equally many people who think it is excellent, so it should make for a great debate.

Dennis Lehane - Shutter Island

I heard of this through the promotion of the film with The reading Agency. It looked very intriging so I thought I would rad the book first.

The book is an amazing psychological thriller. Two US marshall arrive on an island in the 1950's . This island is home to some of the most dangerous and psychotic prisoners in the US. One has escaped. Then a hurricane blows in, cutting the island off and reaping devastation to the complex. In a twisted and and complex plot the reader comes to question everything they have read, assumed and believe to be reality. A stunning book, with a jaw dropping conclusion.

This would make a superb reading group book, there is just so much that can be discussed!!

Here is a link to the film trailer!

http://www.paramountpictures.co.uk/films/shutter_island/index.asp

Libraries versus Bookshops?

I just couldn't resist this. A little late for Chinese New Year I know...... please don't send any dragons after me, unless they are from Pern and I can ride one.

Browsed for too long and no joy on a decent book? Then remember we have the back stock to end all back stock. I challenge you to not find a good book in your local library. If you still do not like it remember you can bring it back for free and swap it - and come and join a Book Group while you are at it!

Beatrice Colin - The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite

Now this was just fabulous. I cannot recommend it more highly and it would make a fantastic book group read. This was a Richard and Judy title and it only goes to show how strong that brand was and what a hole is left in the book world when that show finished.

This book follows the life of the young woman of the title from being an orphan to becoming a silent screen star. What makes this interesting is that we begin in 1899 and go through two World Wars and this is Germany.

Here like The Book Thief, we have the attempt to reintegrate Germany and it's people of this period into the consciousness of the rest of the world without the necessary stigma of Nazism. We see the weeping defeated Kaiser leaving on his train. Yes, Hitler features, as do the death camps but the novel is filled with real suffering people and we are asked - what would you have done? To save your husband would you have returned from Hollywood to star in a film for Goebbels? And to save her would you have been prepared to pay the ultimate price also?

Throughout this book we have a real insight into one person's love for Berlin and follow the bitter suffering that this love results in. It is about the resilience of the human psyche, how the past always returns, catching up with us, and how love can transcend poverty and deprivation. This is truly a novel on the grand scale, and will remain with you long after you have read it.