1st To Die–Book Review

Women’s Murder Club – 1

By James Patterson

After trying different genres I don’t usually read or enjoy, I caught hold of my favourite genre – detective. Rather, 2 of my favourite genres combined – detective and chick lit. Now, whether the combination worked well or not, I will talk about that a bit later.

Homicide Inspector Lindsay Boxer works with San Francisco Police Department. Even strong Boxer is unable to face the gruesome murders of brides and bridegrooms happening all over US. A mad serial killer is on the loose. He attacks couples on their wedding nights, kills them brutally, steals their wedding bands and leaves their murdered bodies in outrageous positions. The sexual sadist killer makes Boxer’s blood boil but however desperate she is to catch the killer, she is helpless at the hands of her own critical illness. 6 murders one after the other takes a toll on Boxer’s peace of mind and health. Then there is a major distraction by the name of Chris Raleigh. Soon, Lindsay is unable to ignore the growing chemistry between the two. Both divorcees; heartbroken & tough. How far do they go? What happens to their chemistry by the end of the book? Ah. The story of their relation is to be read on your own.

With the killer still on the run, Lindsay realizes she needs moral support more than skills. And that’s when she forms the Women’s Murder Club consisting of herself, Claire (a medical examiner), Cindy Thomas (a reporter with Chronicle) and Jill Bernhardt (assistant D.A.). They do all it takes to keep their guts and sanity together when suspicion falls on celebrity novelist, Nicholas Jenks.

Through rapid twists and turns, they nail down the killer.

I enjoyed reading a light crime story after ages (I must stick to such kinds and not venture into literature, like I try to, once in a while). Some may find the plot childish and the writing, amateur. I felt that too. At times, I wanted the characters to move fast, talk lesser hollow stuff and just get real.

Putting in a love story appeared interesting in the beginning (who doesn’t like some spice amidst any serious theme) but later on, ‘chick lit romance’ & girly drama (Boxer’s illness) just did not gel well with ‘hard-core murder detective’. Sometimes, the narration gave a feel of Mills & Boons. Creepy.

This book has also been made into a movie. I thought of watching it. But I remembered the detailed descriptions of murders in the book. Gross; cannot watch them on screen.

I was hooked on to this book, I confess. However immature a murder mystery may be, once suspense is created, you just have to finish it to know who the killer is. It was like that. Once I was mid-way (and mind you, the book isn’t very fast paced), I sneaked into the book during class, while travelling, while eating – I could not keep away from it. And the climax did throw me off track but many could guess it mid-way.

If you want to go in for a light, casual read, this is a good one.

I rate it 3 on 5.

Faceless Killers

Title: Faceless Killers
Author: Henning Mankell
ISBN13: 9781400031573
Source: Library Copy
Rating: 1 out of 5

Synopsis from Goodreads: It was a senselessly violent crime: on a cold night in a remote Swedish farmhouse an elderly farmer is bludgeoned to death, and his wife is left to die with a noose around her neck. And as if this didn’t present enough problems for the Ystad police Inspector Kurt Wallander, the dying woman’s last word is foreign, leaving the police the one tangible clue they have–and in the process, the match that could inflame Sweden’s already smoldering anti-immigrant sentiments.

Unlike the situation with his ex-wife, his estranged daughter, or the beautiful but married young prosecutor who has piqued his interest, in this case, Wallander finds a problem he can handle. He quickly becomes obsessed with solving the crime before the already tense situation explodes, but soon comes to realize that it will require all his reserves of energy and dedication to solve.

My Review:

I already wrote about how uninteresting  I found this book to be. Now that I have finished reading it, I feel it was a total waste of time.

Maybe it was the translation? I don’t know. It lacked suspense and urgency, the characters were dull and the plot was boring and poorly written. I don’t know why it was put in the thriller genre. It is neither psychological nor political.

When I read a mystery book, I expect the murderer to be a complex character with enough motive to execute a cold-blooded murder. The murderer’s character should at least be discussed, outlined, debated and focused on to solve the crime. It was surprisingly missing in this book.

The police officers were predictable. Kurt Wallander himself is a bit of a complex character but is not developed enough. I think with more description and emotion the book could have been better. I mean why is he so popular? His colleagues detective Rydberg and Boman were more interesting comparatively. They were at least doing things and were on the right track.

I also expected to read about Ystad’s landscape, scenery, surrounding, which makes the setting of this novel. Unfortunately, there is none, except the repetitive ”the wind was blowing”.

Do the next books in the series get better? I don’t know. I might give Wallander another chance but not anytime soon.

I had no motivation to go on reading this book but I thought it might grown on me and there would eventually be something startling or maybe there was something I am missing but really the book was quite forgettable.

Truth

…by Peter Temple.

Inspector Stephen Villani is the head of Homicide. He is called to a swanky hotel where a young woman — a girl — is lying dead. Possibly a prostitute. However, the hotel owners don’t want to make a big deal of the death. They respect their clients’ privacy and given the recent opening, want it to be big. And news like this is detrimental to their prospects. So begins a cover up. And more murders. Villani and his team attempt to solve the murders while at the same time, he has to deal with personal issues — a failing (or failed?) marriage, a 15 year old daughter gone astray, a brother who is possibly dealing with bikies and drugs and a father who won’t leave his property despite bushfire threats. The whole case gets very political with the important people possibly involved and trying to get Villani off the case. To no avail.

This book won the Miles Franklin Award and the Victorian Premier Literary award in 2010. All I found myself thinking was — how??? Am I missing something? The book didn’t do much for me at all. There were too many characters and I got lost as to who was who. It seems like a fast paced action that probably would be more suited to the TV than to a book because you just get lost. Villani’s character is probably the only one that seems to grow and that the reader gets an insight into. Everyone else is just there. I don’t know if that makes much sense. But honestly, I struggled to read this book and even the ending wasn’t worth it for me.

I give it a rating of 1. If you have read this book, please tell me if I’m missing something!!!

Until next time,

Cheers!!!

P.S. This has been cross-posted on my personal blog