Need for Speed

As I am still enjoying some time off I am finding that I am reading more and that irrespective of my best intentions the "to be reviewed" stack is getting higher and higher. Fortunately it is not yet as high as the stacks of books to be red so I am okay for now. I just have to give it some welly!

#### SPOILER ALERT ####

The Drop - Michael Connelly

This is the second Harry Bosch one I have read from this author and it was nice to meet him again. Harry seems to have changed a little since we last met. he now has his daughter living with him and he seems a bit more tired, angry and frustrated  with crime and the politics in the department.

This is a two part story and manages to do justice to both. The first case that Harry and his partner (David Chu) are assigned to is one that has to do with cold case involving a young girl and a gruesome end. Some DNA evidence has come back and the detectives are not quite sure what to make of it at first. This part of the story gets Chu and Bosch on the trail of a serial offender and ends up with them uncovering some of the most heinous crimes either of them has even seen. It turns out that the evidence points towards someone who could not possibly have been the killer as he (Clayton) was only 8 years old at the time of the murder. This means that our detectives have to use some creative thinking to figure out what really happened and on how to interpret the evidence they find. Naturally Harry is the one who kind of figures it out and they find the bad guy... who proves to be a real piece of work nicknamed Chill. He is just that, a chilling individual with an overactive imagination and a lust for killing. It is kind of nice to see how Harry's opinions are tested when he meets Clayton first. Our Harry does not hold very high opinions of repeat offenders. However, as he learns of the work that is done he kind of seems to soften his opinion somewhat. It shows that Harry may be an old dog but that he might just be able to learn some new tricks. It may also be that his opinion is somewhat influenced by his falling for one of the therapists there. This is the part that the book does not really need. Harry and Hannah. The story would be able to stand up fine without it and if I remember correctly I found that to be the case with the other Harry Bosch one I read as well? The nice thing about this Clayton-Chill case is that there are not too many twists and turns in it. The boys investigate, probe and discover the truth. The sting in this one is in the end when Clayton Pell decides to take matters in his own hands.

The second case Harry and Chu get is one of an apparent suicide of a high profile councilman's son. This one is a bit more complicated and the one where the political games are being played. Harry gets called to the scene as a favour to a councilman that does not even like him. His son has committed suicide and the councilman wants to be sure that it what it was. Apparenty Harry is the man for the job as the councilman trusts him to do right by him even though Harry dislikes him. When Harry and Chu investigate this one they find a number of clues that seem to be going either way. They stumble upon some dodgy dealings with government contracts and a taxi firm as well as falling out as partners when Harry finds out Chu has been feeding info to the press. In the end they find that it was just a simple suicide after all. Once again it is shown that it is kind of difficult to do a proper investigation into a case if you have to have on hand tied behind your back and people keep things from you but our Harry gets it out of them and this case is out to bed as well. One little niggle that Harry now has to live with that one of his closest allies in the force turns out to be able to do politics as well as the next guy and we come away with the feeling that perhaps Harry has been played.

The fun thing about reading a much later Harry Bosch novel is that I can see that Harry has changed a bit. Like I said, he now has his daughter living with him (who is naturally interested in police work and will be a better him when she gets through police school.. and she will.. eventually). It is briefly mentioned why she now lives with him but it may be interesting to read a few books back to see when this happened as I get the feeling it has changed and re-set Harry's singleton life quite dramatically. Harry definitely seems to be more grumpy than I remember him, and more morose, frustrated and sombre. Though that could be because he knows he has only a few more years to go in the force. He is also really not getting on that well with his partner so it may be interesting to see where that goes. 

I do like Connelly's style. He writes at a good pace and his story flows well. Harry hops and skips between the two cases and this manages to keep the tension for the reader focused and you never know what case he will be working on the next chapter. I liked the variation between the two cases and felt it kept things interesting.

By the way... the title refers to the drop of Clayton Pell's blood that is found on the belt that killed the girl in case number one, the body that dropped in the suicide and the fact that Harry gets his retirement, his DROP in a few years. Very clever Mr Connelly. Just leave out the love interest next time please... Thank You.

Title: The Drop

Author: Michael Connelly

418 pages

Orion

ISBN # 978-1-4091-3630-9

 

Books to be read: 152

More bookish friends

As this Sunday cannot seem to make its mind up on whether it wants to chuck it down or not I feel it is best not to risk getting wet and have planned to stay inside for now. The way this weekend is going it is probably a good thing. My back was giving me trouble on Friday and then yesterday I had a migraine in the evening so that did not help matters any. I am determined to have a better day today... shouldn't be too hard.
On a more positive note, I did manage to get as far as the market on Friday and did think that perhaps the buying of some more books would ease my pain somewhat. I bought three more books just to see if it would work ..... It didn't in the end but it was worth a try. 

New total - books to be read: 154


#### SPOILER ALERT ####

The Hiram Key - Christopher Knight & Robert Lomas
This is actually a non-fiction one so I guess it does not really require a spoiler alert. However,  If you like to adhere to the generally accepted view of the Bible and Jesus' life then it is probably best you do not read this book!
I found this one interesting yet long-winded... or should that be the other way around? The book explores the connections between Freemasonry, the Bible, Knight Templar, Egyptian times and the Dead Sea Scrolls. It uses the rites that are used in Freemasonry and tries to discover where they come from. This quests leads them to stop of in various places in history. In the Egyptian time they trace the figure of Hiram Abif and show that what happened to him in his lifetime resonates through to today's Masonic rituals. As usual there is a secret that is to be guarded in the mix as well and apparently our boy Hiram died protecting a big secret which was consequently lost anyway. They then touch upon the actions of the Knight Templar and what they did to protect some secret knowledge. They then discuss the Dead Sea Scrolls as well and use them to show that event in the life of Jesus fit in with the trail of the Freemasons secret they are trying to discover. On reading all of it I did think at one time that it seemed a bit silly that all these groups have fight to protect a secret that is now not even the original secret any more.... because that was lost in the time of Hiram Abif (if I understand our authors correctly).
In a way it is not that surprising so me that the authors have managed to find parallels to the rituals of the present by looking at the past. Is that not what man has always done? Look to the past for inspiration and for patterns. Which culture in the world does not have the story of a big and all encompassing flood in it? Which culture does not have tales of human or superhuman heroes and deeds of great daring that took place? If you look at the old Greek myths are there not parallels with more recently written fairy tales? Part of me thinks that if you look hard enough you will find what you are looking for. You can make your theory fit if you look at the right evidence. I did think at one point that they were going to look at mythology and fairy tales as well to see if there was possibly anything in there that would afford them an explanation of where the Freemasons' rituals were based on. But maybe that will be the next book? I think it was Umberto Eco who once managed to propose a connection between Mickey Mouse and the Templars so who knows what is next?
As any good story that involves the Templars and Freemasons we end up in Rosslyn Chapel at one point. This is where the authors contend the answer to all our questions might be. The Chapel was "obviously" built as a replica of Herod's Temple and it said to have a secret vault somewhere that they believe holds the answers to the secret that has been hidden for so long. So far, I think no big secrets have been found.
Having said that, it is interesting to see how these two authors have ploughed their way through history looking for connections, and finding them. It was interesting to learn more about the Freemason rituals and about the additional stories that are in the Dead Sea Scrolls that put a slightly different spin on the life of Jesus and biblical history. All in all, good, interesting and intriguing!

Title: The Hiram Key
Author: Christopher Knight & Robert Lomas
481 pages
Arrow Books Limited
ISBN# 0-09-917562-2

Books to be read: 153

Time for another catch up

I have been busy reading and have managed to get through a fair few over the last few weeks, six in fact. Last week I had three coffee dates and caught up with several of my friends and this did take me away from my reading a little bit. But this week I am on track again and I also decided to finally tackle the growing stack of books to be reviewed. It's a different and more solitary kind of catch up but one equally necessary.

However, first things first. My bargain of the week (after last week's three books for £1 each) is definitely the new album by Foy Vance. It is amazing and wonderful and amazingly good. In short: It's AMAZING. I have had it on non-stop for the past few days and am still not tired of it.
Then all I need to do is wait for James Vincent McMorrow's new album due to be released early next year to get another dose of magical music.

But, duty and honour call me to the reviewing so of we go...


#### SPOILER ALERT ####

Five Little Pigs - Agatha Christie
I had got this one earlier in the year on one of my bookshop roaming trips. Then I went to see the play a few months ago and now I have read the book too. It was kind of a shame I had seen the play as I knew who had done it before I started it but I have to say that I liked the way the book was set up way better than the play.
The book tells the story of Carla Lemarchant who is trying to find out if there is any truth in her mother's assertions that she was not guilty of killing her husband. Sixteen years ago Caroline Crale was convicted of the murder of Amyas Crale. Apparently she had poisoned him as revenge for taking up with a new, younger woman who had been posing for a picture with Amyas. Not that it seems to matter much any more if she was guilty or innocent as mummy dearest is dead even before the books begins. But.... Carla believes that her mother would not have proclaimed her innocence had it not been the truth so the asks the help of our favourite foreign detective Hercule Poirot. It seems that Carla wants to know what happened so she can understand herself better and perhaps understand what kind of person she comes from. Poirot is looking upon the whole thing as an interesting intellectual exercise if nothing else and decides to help her piece together what happened. So, off Poirot trots to do the rounds and find all the people that were in the house at the time of the murder, and the lawyers, policemen involved in the case. This way he gets a picture of the case and is able to bring it to its final conclusion.
This way we hear from all those involved and the picture of what happened on the final days of Amyas Crale is laid out in front of us. Philip Blake seems very intent on making Caroline look bad and you get the feeling that this is due to his own scorned interest in her. Elsa Greer (the other woman) is equally intent to paint Caroline as a vindictive woman. And indeed, how unreasonable of a married woman not to give up her husband to any new brazen hussy that comes through the front door eh Elsa. Mr Meredith Blake seems to be trying to find excuses for her but has to accept there is no other person to have done it but she. Angela Warren is Caroline's sister and is convinced she did not do it but cannot see who else might have been the murdered. She is one of the few who has anything good to say about Caroline.  Finally we have the nanny, Miss Cecilia Williams who seems to be the dedicated servant who can see what is happening but has also reached the conclusion that from her behaviour at the time Caroline has shown that she is guilty.
The nice thing of the book is that you get the same story told from each person's perspective. You would think that Poirot wants them to be as neutral and factual as possible but no... he seems to encourage them to recall their memories of what happened and get their specific perspective on what happened. Poirot gets everyone together in the final showdown and poses a few scenarios to those present. 
One of the great things is that looking at the stories of all those involved, any of them could have at one point had the opportunity to poison Amyas and the motive too. Poirot plays on this nicely as he lays out the events of the day before those present and brings it all to a lovely neatly wrapped up conclusion. We see that finally, as if by magic, Poirot is able to get to the truth of what happened on the day. I have no idea what or how Poirot picks up on the things that he does or how he draws the conclusions that he does. It's clever, very clever. Slightly unbelievable... but clever nonetheless.
What the book does really well is bring to life the characters that are no longer that, Caroline and Amyas. Through the stories of those involved you build up a picture of a turbulent marriage that would probably have weathered the storm. It is also a book about sacrifice, the love of one sister for another, of the danger of drawing the wrong conclusions and of getting some sort of justice in the end.
I liked it!


Title: Five Little Pigs
Author: Agatha Christie
233 pages
Harper Collins Publishers
ISBN #0-00-765950-4

Books to be read: 151

Happy Accidents

When walking along the city market yesterday I happened to go past the bookstall and found that they had closing down sale on. So, I now have another 3 orphans to nurture at home. I thought I had been quite restrained in buying three! In fact, I think I have been positively brilliant in not buying more than 3. Maybe I should go and treat myself? Let me think.... what could I possibly get for myself that would make me feel good about myself???

Books to be read: 152

New Beginnings

I am sorry to report that after only a few weeks of dedicated service Bertha has been replaced. Lennie has now entered the game and he is proving to be rather a flashy character with a mind of his own. Suffice it so say that Windows8 and I are not the best of friends just yet.

I have had some time recently to read some more and I am starting to get a backlog of books again so let us begin our review journey today and see how far we get. I think I have about an hour or so before the telly calls so let's get cracking.


#### SPOILER ALERT ####


The Maltese Falcon - Dashiell Hammett
Let me start of by saying that this would have been a far more enjoyable read had it not been for the many spelling errors in it! I am pretty sure they are not Hammett's.. Bad editor... bad bad publisher!!
This story introduces us to Sam Spade, a hard boiled detective trying to make sense of a confusing situation where everyone is trying to get one over on the others. In a way Sam is caught in the middle, in a way he is the one who gets out with his life pretty much in tact and his bank balance vastly improved.
Sam is approached by a woman with a hard luck story which turns into a search for a statue that is believed to be invaluable. There are so many twists and turns in this one that I almost lost track of what was going on and doubted that our Sam even knew what was going on. But, him being the hero that he is, naturally he knew exactly what to do and who to try and con.
So, we have Sam Spade and his partner Miles Archer who are hired by a lovely young lady, Miss Wonderly who tells them she wants to find her sister who has fallen in with the wrong guy, might be in danger etc etc. Spade can smell a ruse a mile off but still decides to take the case. Archer is sent off to find out the target, bullets fly and Mr Archer snuffs it about 7 pages into the story. Leaving Sam to console the widow Archer whom, so we find out later, he knows quite intimately already. Next we find out that Miss Wonderly is actually Miss O'Shaughnessy) and that she is trying to get her hands on a little item that was lost. Also after said item is Mr Joel Cairo. He is described as a queer little man, and he comes across as a bit of a weasel. He also comes across as a man who would do anything for money and double cross his own mother in a heartbeat. Mr Cairo wants Spade to help him locate a little ornament that has been misplaced. Joel is working for a man who is very eager to get this ornament back and is willing to offer Sam $5000 to help him. Sam seems to have no problems taking money from either party in this little game so he promises to see what he can do for Joel's boss Mr Gutman. Sam and Mr Gutman play a very nice game a bluff poker and in the end Sam finds out what he needs to know about what it actually is he is trying to find. By some weird coincidence the item in question lands itself right on Spade's doorstep and we can go to the final play.
In a brilliant few chapters Spade and the others involved together decide on how the game is to be played and who is going to be sacrificed to the cops. Then, just when you think there is going to be a happy ever after for Sam he turns the tables on you again and lays into Miss O. In the end we get the whole story from her side and even she is sacrificed to the cops as she turns out to have killed his partner Miles. As Sam says... "I won't play the sap for you".
I loved this one. The dialogue is snappy and lively, Sam has a great sense of humour and a real presence in the book. the other characters are great fun to read and the interactions between Sam and Mr Gutman and Joel Cairo are really well written. There is fun, blood, people being knocked out and betrayed. We have the bungling policeman (classic good cop - bad cop) who get spun a story and buy it and above all we have Sam who gets away with his life in tact... Go Sam!


Title: The Maltese Falcon
Author: Dashiell Hammett
197 pages
Thinking Ink Media
ISBN #978-1-907590-32-0


Books to be read: 149

Posted on Bertha....Solid but twitchy

For the time being I have a little loaner of a laptop form one of my friends. Reason being that my own laptop seemed to think that it was alright to keep me wait for 20 mins before it would respond to my pushing a button..... any button. This meant that, at times my blood pressure would rise to totally unacceptable levels and who needs that. So... I have just decided to get myself a totally new little red number! This will mean that in a week or so I will be totally hip and up to date again or at least more up to date than I was.

I have been getting on with a bit of reading this week but also have some catching up to do as three little read ones are screaming to be reviewed. So, without further ado...


#### SPOILER ALERT ####

The Heart of the Matter - Graham Greene
I do like a good GG book. I love the way he writes. He has pondered the words he uses and the characters he gives you are always a joy to read. This one was quite serious and "deep". It is not a fun filled tale but there are some funny bits in it. I definitely think that cockroach hunting could become an Olympic sport.
In this book we meet Mr Scobie who is straight down the line and incorruptible and we see him slowly fall apart... betray everything he believes in. He loses his love and his faith and that is the end of the man.
Scobie is one of the most interesting fictional characters I have ever met. He is a man who wants to keep things in order, does not mind being alone and takes his religion seriously. He has learnt to live in Africa and he has learnt how the people around him work. He knows not to take anyone at their word and he has also learnt to stay clear of the ever charming Yusef.
Scobie has a wife that does not particularly love him but they have managed to find a way to co-exist. He is a policeman in a West African nation which is trying to keep the Germans from getting their hands on illegal goods and spends some considerable time in keeping the neighbouring French in line. Scobie is not a man that is destined for greatness or success, it seems. He has been moved out of his house and downgraded to a smaller and less prestigious nissen hut. He has been passed up for promotion in favour of an outsider and now his wife wants to get away from the heat and stifling nature of the place he calls home.... and Scobie does not have the money but he is damned if he is going to let Louise down!
Throughout the book we see Scobie deteriorate. He falls in love with a woman and it seems to be his love for her that aids his downfall. In any other author's world Scobie would have probably fallen in love, had a good time and lived cheatingly ever after but not with Greene. As soon as he finds one ounce of personal happiness he is doomed. Actually, his downfall probably starts as soon as he decides not to tell on the Captain of the ship he searches. They get a tip to search a ship and Scobie withholds the letters he finds. He destroys them after he has read them and does not act upon them but it is the first chink in his armour. The fact that there are no consequences for the captain of the ship shows him that Scobie did not carryout his threats to report the letter so Scobie becomes vulnerable. His downfall is then compounded by him falling in love with another woman. Now he has God to answer to as well... not just his own conscience. 
What makes it even more interesting is that Scobie is so affected by his affair and the fact that he knows he is doing something wrong that he finds it hard to go to church and to keep his faith. It seems that this weighs as much on his mind, if not more than the fact that people might consider him to be dishonest.
Another interesting character we meet at the start is Wilson. As he is introduced first I almost assumed that the story would be about him but it isn't. We don't really find out that much about Wilson. He seems to have come out of nowhere, no-one is really sure what he does and what class he belongs to. Turns out he was sent to sniff out the cheats and weasels and for some reason he has it in for Scobie. He thinks Scobie is taking bribes but he cannot prove it. I guess he thinks that no-one can live out there for so long and not be corrupted. He also thinks Scobie treats his wife badly. He even declares his love for her at one point but she does not take him seriously. He does come across like a bit of a drippy, lovelorn kind of guy that just does not fit in anywhere.
The third character that is of some relevance to Scobie is Yusef the Syrian. He is the one that would like be Scobie's friend (just a friend... honest gov'). Part of me actually thinks that this is true part of me thinks that for a man like Yusef being able to corrupt someone like Scobie must be a major accomplishment. I think at times Yusef sees how much of a struggle Scobie's life is for him and he wants to help him. Problem is... he will want something in return. Scobie manages to fend Yusef off for a long time. But when it comes to making his wife happy Scobie has no choice but to go to Yusef for a loan. To be fair to Yusef he does not really use this against Scobie until he is left with no coice but by then Scobie is beyond redemption anyway.
Then we have the object of Scobie's desire... Helen. She is a young woman who came to Africa to be with her new husband. The boat she was on was sunk and she was one of the lucky ones to get rescued. At first she and Scobie seem to be able to just stay friends but they get closer. She is the wife that Scobie would have picked for himself. She is how his own wife was before... before they lost their little child and Africa got inside of them.
For Scobie the affair is both love and torture and in the end he cannot take it any more. He can see no way to please everyone any more and he decides that enough is enough. His love for Helen would take him away from Louise and his love for Louise makes him not want her to know about the affair. The plan for his own demise is cunning, but not quite cunning enough. He dies alright but Wilson and Louise figure out what is going one. Not only that... she knew about the affair and came back to see if she could save her marriage.

So, good read and a bit dark and depressing (not in a bad way though!!) with great writing and very interesting characters.


Title: The Heart of the Matter
Author: Graham Greene
272 pages
Penguin Books
ISBN #0-140-27875-3

Books to be read: 150

International orphans

Having come back from a short holiday I now have three more orphan books that have made their way across the Channel. Only one more crime one and the others are totally different. In due course they will appear on here reviewed and everything.... with bells on.

Off to focus on my documentary on the rise of Hitler now, cannot stop long....

Books to be read: 151