Elly Griffiths - The Outcast Dead - #ellygriffiths

ELLY GRIFFITHS

THE OUTCAST DEAD

The first time I have read one of her books, though there is a detective, a murder and missing children I would not class this as a detective novel. Not that fans of detective novels wouldn’t enjoy it. It seems to be a bit of a catalogue of relationships that seem modern. The archaeologist has a daughter to the Policeman who still lives with his wife and children but seems obsessive  about his daughter and interferes constantly, the archaeologist still has a crush (to me an irrational crush) on the detective. Another detective has a child fathered by a hippy friend of the archaeologist who has an older daughter who wants to get involved with the hunt for the kidnappers.

All this going on as well as a televised dig examining a convicted, but probably innocent, child murderer, involving a good looking American historian. It is a long time since I lived in Norfolk but I doubt if the roads have improved to make the distances between the scenes of action as short as they appear.

All said I will put Elly on my list of authors to read even though I took a dislike to DCI Harry Nelson who I thought had no redeeming traits whatsoever.   

Kate Atkinson Started Early, Took My Dog

KATE ATKINSON
Started Early, Took My Dog

After page four I realised I had read this before, but that didn’t in the least distract from the enjoyment. Enjoyment on many different levels; the plot has many twists and turns though I didn’t spot them all, when they were unexpected they made sense, they were not like Agatha’s “here’s one I made earlier” moments (what puts me off reading Agatha, despite enjoying film and TV renditions). There was also the enjoyment you get from recognising the places she is talking about, obviously not a pleasure available to those not acquainted with God’s Own County. Though I suppose the greatest pleasure for me was in recognising the associations and chain of thought of the characters. I knew, before looking it up, that she must have been somewhere near my age (not quite as old). I oft muse, is pedantry a gift of age, or are we born with it.

It would be a disservice to describe this book as a detective novel; it is much more than that. Not in a putting off way, but there is a hint of social comment a modern Dickensian touch.

I am not particularly fond of “flashbacks” in either literature or film, but in this case it does not distract and as the main protagonists are participants of the “flashbacks”, it does fit in and serves the purpose. I reluctantly admit I am not put off by the fact the story leaves some questions unanswered, unless I missed them that is, doing that always leaves you the option to imagine the fate you think characters deserve.

All in all a very enjoyable read.

Hakan Nesser - Woman With a Birthmark

HAKAN NESSER

Woman With a Birthmark

Chief Inspector Van Veeeren is not as angst driven as Kurt Wallender  and his team seem less burdensome. The cover blurb claims “he is being favourably compared with Henning Mankell and Stig Larson” OK so I might be biased but he is nowhere near Larson, not yet anyway, and for my taste he is nearer Mankell so “favourably compared” is probably a fare description.

This is one of those novels than accompanies the Victims, the perpetrator and the Police, so in some ways you know where it is going. Is it a “crime” novel or a “thriller”? Typical of “revenge” novels it inspires more empathy with the killer rather than the victims; no doubt a few more books into the series will encourage more bonding with the detectives. It does continue my education about Swedish weather and reinforces my impression of space, meaning I get the feeling that the population is not as dense as it is in West Yorkshire.

I did enjoy it and will seek out more from this author; there are at least three more that have been translated.

Henning Mankell - The Troubled Man

The Troubled Man

Henning Mankell

I can’t have many more Walanders to read, even with this one, all the way through I felt I had read it before, not enough to spoil the enjoyment. That is the trouble when reading books that have been televised, especially as the TV versions are always abridged versions, which is the nature of TV adaptations.

Until a couple of years ago, my knowledge of Sweden as a neutral country where nothing much happened, I pictured it being cold with a lot of snow. I also knew that Olof Palme was a Social Democrat Prime Minister that had been assassinated, but that was about it. But now after reading Millenium, Mankell, Hakan Nesser and others, and watching sub-titled TV films  I feel I know much more.

I now think of it being more wet than cold, I also understand that it has a very strong far right element and that their secret service and military have a great fear of their near neighbour, Ruussia. I see that many of their attitudes are like ours with many of the same tensions on immigration.

Back to the book, not a straight “detective” novel as it is mixed with espionage, but Walander  has his usual self-doubt and conflicts, his fear of getting old and losing his memory, not that he was ever confident in the earlier books, is a constant theme. Most of the action, and thinking, takes place whilst he is on suspension waiting to hear his fate.

Well worth a read.

Only One Life - Sara Blaedel

ONLY ONE LIFE

Sara Blaedel

A couple of weeks since I read it, but a Danish writer examines attitudes to immigration and prejudices as a strong by line in this murder investigation. It is always a question, am I complimenting the writer or the translator? In this case two, Erik J Macki and Tara F Chace. However good the original story the translators must be have contributed in making this book a pleasure to read.

It seems to me that Denmark is not that different to the UK in misunderstandings of “other” religions or to be more accurate “cultures”. I do hope, even if in fiction it does seem to be a recurring theme, that the ease with which detectives jump to conclusions is not accurate. It’s a bit like the cliché, that the boss is always wrong, usually has not come up through the ranks, and despite the evidence of book after book, or in the case of TV week after week that the “hero” is proven correct, they dismiss their views. Often ordering that lines of investigation are abandoned later being proved wrong.

I know my choice of reading is getting very narrow, but I now read for enjoyment with no thought of improving my mind. It is what it is and it is probably too late to change it.

Ian Rankin - EVEN DOGS IN THE WILD

Ian Rankin

EVEN DOGS IN THE WILD

Anybody into detective novels must be into Rebus, and most must have hoped for a continuance when Rebus at last retired. We knew Fox could continue but he isn’t Rebus.  The other alternative was to let Siobhan star without John, instead we have all three working together with Big Ger thrown in for good measure.

Though I enjoyed it and couldn’t stop reading, it not surprisingly is not my favourite Rankin novel. I suppose there are still people who rely on TV  and enjoy Ken Stott’s portrayal, I can only advise you to read the books as well, as usual books paint a much more in depth picture though this one leans more on action rather than detection, I do like a bit of both.

Ann Cleeves

BLUE LIGHTNING

I unusually for Ann Cleeves want to start with a criticism, no it is not that I didn’t enjoy the book as usual I always wanted to read a few more pages even when I should be abed. No the criticism is trivial, it is this; was it a good idea to try to take a young girls mind off the fact that she was a suspect in the stabbing to death of her step mother in the study, by playing Cluedo? I can understand the Scrabble, was Cluedo a deliberate joke by Ann?

At the risk of repeating myself (no not risk, I am actually repeating myself) Douglas Henshall portrays Perez accurately to the book, in every aspect but one, his hair is not dark enough, he doesn’t look Spanish. But the portrayal of the character is spot on in my view, and again, as I have said previously, I have no way of knowing if the portrayal of Shetland is accurate, but it is convincing.

I thought the Times Literary Supplement’s comment “A fully satisfying novel” a bit mean, it was better than that. The Independent comment “Cleeves is excellent not just on mystery, but on the atmosphere of Fair Isle, and the effect of its strange character on the human population” goes someway further, but even that leaves out the way she describes the characters in her books she does not portray many neutrals, you do either associate, sympathise or despise nearly everyone she introduces.

If you read one of her Shetland books and don’t immediately want to read another, you have no taste.     

Sara Blaedel - Only One Life

SARA  BLAEDEL – Only One Life

I suppose the only reason we have been crept up on by Nordic Noir is the barrier created by our refusal to accept that people speak and write in languages other than English. Why else should we be surprised at the breadth and depth of literature from other countries.

It wouldn’t surprise me if the majority of UK readers think of Dumas, or even Tolstoy as English. We, or some of us have embraced sub titled versions classic Nordic Noir crime stories, even with sub-titles the “foreign” version of Wallander was closer to the book, assuming the translation was accurate than the somewhat anodyne UK rendition.

So it was with eager anticipation that I opened Sara Blaedel . Louise Rick does not have the same psychological problems that most Nordic detectives are usually portrayed with, but the book does tackle the racial prejudices of Denmark, that seem no different from the UK. It did seem that just like in UK soaps, the Police in fiction don’t really need any proper evidence to make arrests.

I suppose it is a matter of taste whether you would like this or not, it’s not really a thriller or a detective novel, rather a bit of both, it took a bit to get going, but I did enjoy it. I am always disappointed when the crime is solved in an Agatha Christie sort of way, in other words a new fact is introduced to solve the crime surreptitiously rather than with Holmes like deduction, but that’s my preference.    

Ann Cleeves - Red Bones

ANN CLEEVES

RED BONES

Ann Cleeves has so far not disappointed me, and this is not an exception. She paints the characters so well that you can't help either wanting them to get their come-upance  or rooting for it to turn out well for them. I don't know how accurate her picture is of Shetland life, but it is convincing.

Fortunately this book is not spoiled by the TV series, Douglas Henshall is a convincing "Perez", (though his hair should have been darker). The story line has the usual dead ends and twists, but I think for me the attraction is the bigger picture of peoples lives and the Islands History.

Not a blood and gore crime story, or not even a locked room mystery, I either didn't spot, or it wasn't there, the moment of Agathenian insight that told Perez the answer, but I don't feel cheated, I enjoyed this book.