Book Review: Loyalty in Death

Loyalty in Death by J.D. Robb

Publisher: Berkley Books

Category: Crime

Challenges: Mystery and Suspense Challenge, R.I.P. VI

Synopsis: A man is killed by his lover. Should be a fairly easy case to solve, except it becomes clear very soon that it isn’t. There is conspiracy abound and Eve and her gang need to use their smarts to solve this case before thousands more die.

My Thoughts: Not one of my favourite Robbs, despite the fact that we get to meet a family member of one of the major characters, Peabody’s brother Zeke.

Eve is supposed to be a homicide cop, and although this book starts with a murder the investigation is never about the victim. It becomes about the terrorists and the bombing and what I love about Eve is that she stands for the victim and I don’t feel like she does in this book. I also have another problem with one event in this book. I hate it when authors make me care about a character and then kill them off. It really puts me off.

There are of course some highlights in this book, especially the Peabody, McNabb, Eve scenes make me giggle quite a bit. And that is probably one of the saving graces of the book. The mysteries are often formulaic but the interpersonal relationships are very real and very funny. None of the characters are perfect but they are real.

Copyright ©2011 Zee from Notes from the North. This post was originally posted by Zee from Notes from the North. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Book Review: Conspiracy in Death

Conspiracy in Death by J.D. Robb

Publisher: Berkley Books

Category: Crime

Challenges: Mystery and Suspense Challenge, R.I.P. VI Challenge

Synopsis: Someone killed a homeless man. And then took his heart. To top it all of the police officer who first secures the scene seems to have it out for Eve.

My Thoughts: This book really explores how our job can become central to our identity, and what happens when that identity is taken away from us. Because of the unfounded accusations of an individual Eve is taken off the job as a police officer. For her this is devastating as being a police officer is central to, not only who she is, but also to her sense of security. For many years she had no control over her own life, being a member of the NYPD gave her this sense of control.

I find it interesting how often we tie our identity to something, when actually our identity is made up of very many different identities. Eve has a hard time seeing herself as anything but a police officer. She fails to see that apart from being a kick ass police officer she is also a wife, friend, lover. She is valued for things other than her ability to solve murder cases. Of course she is fantastic at this but I think she learns a valuable lesson in that she can be so much more.

Other favourite parts of this book? We meet Troy Trueheart for the first time. I do love Trueheart. Those who read this blog have probably noted my love for the series about Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne, and Trueheart reminds me so much of one of the characters in that series, Kevin Flynn. Both are young, eager police officers who want to learn. Who want to move forward. And who are honest and caring. The world needs more guys like that.

Copyright ©2011 Zee from Notes from the North. This post was originally posted by Zee from Notes from the North. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Book Review: Maybe This Time

Maybe This Time by Alois Hotchnig

Publisher: Peirene Press

Category: Short story

Challenges: R.I.P. VI

Synopsis: A Series of dreamlike short stories.

My Thoughts: This book freaked me out so much that I had to stop reading it at bedtime. In fact, I had to finish it in broad daylight on a buss surrounded by people it was so braintwisty and nightmareish. Not those nightmares that have you waking up in the middle of the night in a sweat but rather the kind where you wake up in the morning with an uncomfortable feeling that stays with you the whole day. Where you ask yourself multiple times “what was that”. You can’t quite remember, but you know you felt very uncomfortable.

This was another beautifully written book from the ladies at Peirene Press. Despite being a translation the English flowed seamlessly, and as somewhat of a translation snob I have to applaud them for their continuously high  standards when it comes to translations.

As I said before this book is seriously braintwisty. It makes you question everything you see. At the start of each story you think you know what is going on, but by the time you get to the end you no longer have a clue, and somehow I can’t seem to shake the feeling that this is a metaphor for life.  We can never quite know what it is we are doing or what it is we are seeing.

Apart from the creepy feeling this book gave me I am having a hard time articulating my feelings on it. I think I need some distance to it, to work out what it was it was trying to tell me. And I think I need to read it again. Read it more carefully. Or perhaps less carefully. Let it speak to me in a way that maybe I didn’t this time.

I do recommend it for anyone who likes books that leave you with a creepy feeling. For me the creepiest story was probably “Then a Door Opens and Swings Shut”. I find the morphing of Karl and the doll to be particularly disturbing.

I would  like to thank Peirene Press for sending me a review copy of this book. It was a very interesting read.

Copyright ©2011 Zee from Notes from the North. This post was originally posted by Zee from Notes from the North. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.

R.I.P. VI Challenge Sign-Up

Carl from Stainless Steel Droppings is once again running the very popular Readers Imbibing Peril (R.I.P.) Challenge and I am all in! I’ve been saving up some spooky reads for this particular challenge, plus I started reading a new book the other day that fits the bill perfectly. So what are my initial picks (you don’t have to pick a list but you know me, I like lists).

• Maybe This Time by Alois Hotschnig is the latest book from one of my favourite publishers Peirene Press. It is out later this month and I can’t read it before bed, too creepy.
• Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly I read/had my students read an easy reader version of this (don’t shoot me getting those students to read ANYTHING was a victory) and I could tell that there was a good story under the  “easy” version.
• Dracula by Bram Stoker with all the vampire books/tv shows/movies around these days it seems like a good idea to read this classic.
• No Name and The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. Last year for R.I.P. V last year I read The Woman in White and I was recommended The Moonstone, I figured I might do No Name as well.
• I am also going to make another attempt at The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe. I didn’t get to it last year and this year I am determined.
• I’ m also currently on an In Death kick so I might throw some of them into the mix as well. There is a new one (New York to Dallas by J.D. Robb) out in two weeks so that will be read no matter what.

I’m doing

and

Maybe This Time is a collection of short stories as is The Fall of the House of Usher so in addition to Peril the First I will also do Peril of the Short Story.

By the way, I adore the banners for this year, having seen the Doctor Who episode Blink, stone statues are amongst the most frightening things I know.

Copyright ©2011 Zee from Notes from the North. This post was originally posted by Zee from Notes from the North. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.