Cockroaches by Jo Nesbø

by Carol6 Comments
Fictional detectives fall into many categories; the competent police force detective, male or female; the female amateur of so many light cozies, who may or may not have a bit of magic about her; the former professional who still "helps" with the occasional case; and the competent private investigator are just a few. Harry Hole is the anti-hero, a type of detective I'm drawn to. He's competent, but that's almost his downfall. He's so tenacious, like a pit bull with a bone, that even when he's sent on this sensitive case that everyone want to just go away, he digs and digs through all the muck and muddle to get to the truth. He's an alcoholic and develops a taste for opium, he is haunted by memories and by the unsolved rape of his sister who has Downs' syndrome. He's in a bad spot, so the folks in charge send him off to Thailand, figuring the drunk cop has no...
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Night Film by Marisha Pessl

by Carol6 Comments
I really enjoyed Night Film and I have to say that it kept my attention all the way through, which at over 23 hours is pretty impressive. McGrath was not my favorite of the characters. I didn't exactly understand his obsession, but I did like the two young adults who are his side-kicks. Their reasons for caring made more sense to me. He just let a story overtake him, their concerns are more personal. It's a long books and tends toward sprawling in places. It meanders and we follow trail after trail that (maybe) go nowhere. It's not a novel with answers, just more questions. And that's even before McGrath (maybe) loses touch with reality a bit. I have to say I really liked the whole set-up and the way reality mirrored fiction portraying reality - maybe.  I guess it's one of those stories where I just went along for the ride, let Pessl lead me down the alleys she wanted to. I loved her...
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The Corsican Caper by Peter Mayle

by Carol1 Comment
Ah, the lives of the rich. Wine and food and wonderful scenery. And a house so marvelous someone is willing to kill you for it. That's about all there is to this mystery. I was never really worried about Reboul, since Sam is clearly too smart to let anything happen to his friend. There's no real question who the bad guy is, but for someone as connected and careful as Vronsky is, his plan is foiled easily. It's a short audiobook and the narrator does an okay job with all the characters and accents, from French to Russian to American to whatever Elena is, but my mind kept wandering. There was a lack of tension, no need for clues. The food sounded delicious, but aside from that there isn't much else to keep my attention. The characters are two-dimensional. The mystery is pretty much non-existent and the solution to the problem is too easy. I started to say it's okay if you just need something...
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Beastly Things by Donna Leon

by Carol3 Comments
I've read several of the Brunetti mysteries, but not necessarily in order. Beastly Things was okay, not the best in the series and there were some things I missed. First and foremost I missed the food, the delicious meals Brunetti has, the desserts and drinks. They're here, but not as tempting as usual. Of course, that probably has to do with the social theme she's tackling in addition to the mystery. We have a look inside the food industry, at the slaughtering of animals and how the meat is deemed "safe for human consumption." I don't mind social issues in mysteries, but at times it can over-shadow the actual mystery plot. And the horrible scene at the slaughterhouse was not as disturbing as I thought it would be, in all honesty. But maybe I've heard too many horror stories before. I like the characters as always and Venice is as a wonderful setting. I will say the plot held few surprises. I guessed...
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A Colder War by Charles Cumming

by Carol6 Comments
Maybe it was a mistake to listen to this one so soon after The Cairo Affair since they are both spy thrillers, but I found A Colder War more annoying than anything. You have Kell, a train agent in his 40s who knows the game, knows the people, knows how it all works. You have Amelia, his boss, who has called him back to look into Wollinger's death and then do some searching for the mole. She's obviously intelligent, and also, we're told, his actual friend. So far, so good. Amelia's keeping info from Kell, but he's doing the same things. They can't trust the Americans, but have to pretend to cooperate with them. Standard spy stuff and it could have been a good thriller. Until The Girl enters the picture and Kell apparently loses his mind. He becomes obsessed, or "in love," and stops thinking clearly. And I just wanted to smack him.  It's obviously not going to be in his...
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The Cairo Affair by Olen Steinhauer

by Carol5 Comments
It's been a while since I've read a good espionage book. I've read a couple of barely mediocre ones, but that's beside the point. My library had The Cairo Affair available on audio and the title rang a bell, so I borrowed. Turned out that was a really good choice. It's nice to start of the new year with a winner. The story is told through several viewpoints, but it was always clear whose eyes we were seeing situations through. It was interesting, although not surprising, how much the same event could vary from viewpoint to viewpoint. The characters were all real, there were not over the top superagents, no too good to be true loyalists, no overly intelligent office worker able to predict everything. They are all doing the best they can given their abilities, limited knowledge and resources. Okay, maybe "the best" is not quite true, because we do have people willing to kill, to betray their country and...
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