Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Can someone tell me why this book is considered to be a masterpiece of spy fiction??? I mean the reader gets "DROPPED" in the middle of nowhere called "A PLOT", with a protagonist who is too lazy or too laid back to care, along with me the reader, about whats going on. And by the end, when the mole gets pointed out, I dont know how or which points or clues pointed him out.

For me SPY FICTION = A FORM OF CRIME FICTION..

So, if these books don't have CRIME -> DETECTION -> CLUES SEARCH -> CATCHING THE MOLE, instead has confusing jargon, innumerable "spies" who have no link whatsoever to the plot, and a desperate attempt from the author to make spy fiction read like a booker winner, I call it PRETENTIOUS and tend to skip it, and make it a point of not reading the author's work again.

Give me a Bob Ludlum, or a Frederick Forsyth any day. Yes, unlike Le Carre their books might never be found in the hands of so-called serious readers, but atleast they live up to their name of spy thrillers. The books are thrilling.


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Ashes to Dust by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Of all the Nordic crime writers I had experienced, I had an opinion that Jo Nesbo is the mad-dest of them all. And, why shouldn't he be?? With the kind of brutal torture scenes in his books, and the ability to make a very peace-loving reader like me relish those scenes, he certainly deserves his status as the “mad-writer” whose taste for brutality can be called an act of a Genius.
Yrsa Sigurðardóttir might not have reached that level of madness with her scenes of violence in her book ASHES TO DUST, but when it comes to the theme of the book, she beats Nesbo hands down, and presents us with a book the ending of which left me in a dark mood. Unlike most crime fiction where the ending means the culprit being detained, and with a few losses of bodies here and there, the ending leaves the reader satisfied and happy, well almost. But, such was not the case here. Yes, the culprit did get apprehended, but the ending was dark, and by the time the motive of the culprit comes out in the open, I was left with a sense of an utter sadness. So, if you want to read this, beware, no doubt you will read a great work of crime fiction, but you will also read a book which is dark, very dark.
Þóra Guðmundsdóttir, was the protagonist. A single mother and a lawyer, who gets entangled in this mystery didn't make a deep impression in my mind. Maybe because the plot was so overwhelming that it eventually overshadowed the protagonist. Unlike other Nordic crime fiction, the speed of the book was slow.
Summing up, this book is definitely not for all and sundry. A voracious crime reader should go for it, I can vouch that he/she wont be disappointed.



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The Leopard by Jo Nesbø
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Harry Hole is hiding in a hole in Hong Kong, sleeping his days off, gambling away his time and in the process getting himself deeper in debt, owing money to the Triad. In the midst of such heartbreaking atmosphere, Oslo police sends a one man search team to find out Hole and bring him back to Norway, as his expertise suddenly are in much demand, as another serial killer has started business and have already claimed three clients. His modus-operandi is unique, as he uses an old Belgian torture device called Leopold’s Apple to torture and murder his victims, all female. Hole back in Norway is assigned the case unofficially as he begins to move through the murky waters on Police politics and African colonists to uncover the grisly truth.

I had two reasons for being frightened that I might just end up not finishing this book.
1. 900+ pages. Daunting and somewhat wary-ish. I dont look forward to reading 900+ pages long crime books. 900+ pages mean that the book, in tune with my schedule, is going to be a long read. And, I don’t like a thriller which becomes long drawn, somehow I feel less inclined towards the book after a span of 4-5 days.
2. This was the 8th Hole novel. And I was not sure whether I could tune in into the booka dn the character. As so much has been written about this character and series, somehow I had the feeling that I might miss out or feel left out of the whole “HARRY HOLE” persona. And end up not enjoying as much as I should have liked to.

But, within 50 pages I knew that both the above mentioned points were not gonna stop me from taking as much pleasure possible from reading this book. Make no mistake, this one had all the stereotypes associated with a police procedural featuring a serial killer. It had,
1. A serial killer.
2. Female victims.
3. (most importantly) A disgruntled, broken down police officer who is not much obedient and has constantly been in trouble with his superiors.
4. A plot laced with internal police politics.
But, despite these points Nesbo managed to write a book and create a plot which not only spans from Europe to Africa but also manages to be a fast and furiously twisted ride, with a stereotype protagonist like none other. Cutting, short I loved this book. 900 pages in 4 days flat tells the story.

Lastly, my guess is that Mr. Nesbo is a mentally sick man. No sane person can create murder scenes. One victim’s torture method really made me cringe and read those pages over and over again. Now had he been sane, and just left it at the victims being just murdered, had I been that blown out of my mind. No!! So thank you Mr. Nesbo, your descriptions were gory and grisly, and I enjoyed reading every bit of it.


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The Merry Misogynist by Colin Cotterill
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: Don’t get fooled by the title, this book is neither about the Canadian author David Gilmour nor Sir Naipaul.

First line: By the time the calendar pages had flipped around to 1978, Vientiane, the capital of the People’s Democratic Republic of Laos, had become a dour place to live.

The great Dr. Siri, Laos’ only coroner is facing charges from the Housing Department of his country of subletting his house to a motley group of shady characters. He is faced with the charge of profiting from a house which had been allotted to him for his shelter by the party for free. As he decides to fight these charges, from Madam Daeng’s house cum noodle shop, where Siri is currently staying, by enlisting the loathsome Judge Haeng help in fighting off Comrade Koomki of the housing department, his professional expertise is called into service as a dead body of a woman is delivered to his morgue. With apparent signs of assault, Dr. Siri comes face to face with the fact, that a serial killer is killing off women in the country and it is up to him and his friends(Phosy, Civilai, Geung, Dtui and Daeng) to stop this killer and bring him to justice. Added to this gruesome crime, Siri gets on a personal job to find a mentally unstable Indian, crazy Rajid, who writes ridddles and whose father Mr. Tickoo works in an Indian restaurant.

I normally tend to stay away from the American serial killer crime novels. They are boring. The plots don’t engage me in anyway, and here is where this book scores. Full points to Cotterill, who wrote a serial killer novel and made it every bit interesting, and managed to keep me hooked till the last page had gone by. How did he do this? He kept a sub plot of finding Crazy Rajid, which kept the reader moving back and forth thereby driving off monotony. And, somehow his writing style made the parts which do not deal with the main plot interesting to read. Like Dr. Siri seeing spirits or the conversation between Civilai and Siri, or the scenes where Civilai tries to make people eat the buns baked by him.

Though going by Slash and Burn, I thought that even this book will have a high humor quotient, but it wasnt there. But whatever there was, was enough to add the spice of laughter to an otherwise brutal, chilling and gruesome crime novel.

P.S. Look out for the Communist mottos by Judge Haeng, they are present and they are as effective as ever.


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1222 by Anne Holt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

First line - AS IT WAS ONLY THE TRAIN DRIVER WHO DIED, YOU COULDN’T CALL IT A DISASTER.
1222 is the eighth book in the series of Crime Novels written by the Norwegian writer, Anne Holt, featuring retired policewoman Hanne Wilhelmsen. The book is set in the town of Finse in Norway, which lies 1222 meters above sea level, thus making it the highest Railway System located in Norway.

A train carrying passengers to Bergen comes under a hurricane and heavy snowfall, and crashes killing the driver immediately. The passengers on board, including the crippled Hanne, is evacuated to a nearby Hotel, where they are provided with food and shelter as the weather conditions goes from bad to worse. Keeping in tune with the nature the internal atmosphere of the hotel gets chilly, as within a few hours of evacuation one of the passengers is found dead with a bullet hole. Hanne being ex-police becomes the natural choice for leading the investigation.

The plot is in style of a classic whodunnit. We have our murder victims, we have more than enough suspects and we also get a closed door atmosphere. Although the total number of passengers from the train numbered up to more than 190, but the writer while creating a suspect pool kept the number within 10, with the other 180 passengers merely being side characters. The blood and gore normally associated with Nordic Crime fiction was absent. But the ending disappointed me, somehow it felt as if the writer suddenly realised that she needs to end the book hence she needs to get someone within the suspect pool to act as a murderer. This abruptness mellowed down a plot which was going strongly and had the capacity of ending with a high note.

Another point where the book fell flat was the translation. Maybe it was because of this translation the book felt disjointed at times, and I found myself skipping paragraphs. So, if one manages to ignore these points, here is a book which is set in a foreign country, surrounded by an atmosphere as chilly as a psychopathic criminal, a plot which is somewhat loose but fast, and equally enjoyable.


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A Pinch Of Snuff by Reginald Hill
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

“ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT! GASPED PASCOE IN HIS AGONY.”

Thus started A PINCH OF SNUFF by the celebrated British Crime author Reginald Hill, the fifth instalment of his crime novels featuring the protagonist duo of Andy “Fat man” Dalziel, his “sidekick” Peter Pascoe, and deftly helped by Sergeant Weild. And, not to forget peter’s feisty wife Ellie. The book starts with Peter’s visit to his dentist when the doctor tells him that in a recent BDSM adult movie viewing, of which the doctor was a part of, there was a suspicion on the part of the doctor, that the actress involved was really beaten and that her teeth flew of her mouth in reality, instead of acting the part. Pascoe burdened with such revelations decides to investigate the matter, albeit on his own, as Fat Man Dalziel takes no interest in the accusations and clearly states that Pascoe is chasing wild goose. Things takes a turn when the man in charge of the movie theatre showing the movie is found murdered and his home ransacked. Pascoe like a true detective follows his hunch and we are presented with a slow yet a twisted work of crime writing.

This is probably one of those very few detective duo series where the main work, or rather the main leg work is done by the sidekick. At times I feel that Pascoe is the main character with Dalziel appearing like a visiting consultant only to provide valuable snippets of input and theories. But never once reading the book there is a feeling that one of the two is the main character and the other being the sidekick. Hill manages to portray in such a way which makes them look both equal a partner, which is not present too often in crime fiction. Right from Holmes and Watson, through Poirot and Hastings to Morse and Lewis. Not many writers can claim such feat, but among those who can, Hill is one of them. And; this is what makes this duo such an interesting pair of crime fighters.

The plot was slow, and it was twisted, with a lot of connection between the events that takes place. This book needs time for reading; any plans of finishing it in two days flat would fall flat. But once one third of the book has gone by, the plot thickens and the pace starts building. And since the book dealt with a subject which seldom gets talked about or gets featured in books as a subject for a plot, the reading experience is made even better.


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The Kill List by Frederick Forsyth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Move aside boys, make way for the MAN”
This is the exact impression I had while I was storming through the book called “THE KILL LIST” by the legendary Frederick Forsyth. Time and time again as he had proved earlier, he again proved why Lee Child remarked about THE DAY OF THE JACKAL “This was the book that broke the mould” The books is cat and mouse chase between an American colonel and a Jihadist Cleric. I guess telling more would give away the plot. And with this book he proved again why he stands as a man, in a crowd of thriller “boys” novelists.

Accepted that KILL LIST was no JACKAL. But, it isn’t a dud either, in fact its a taut and fast paced thriller, which involved huge amount of research (as is the case with every Forsyth book), but never did seem to be out of place. And here lies one of his fortes; Forsyth has that uncanny style of incorporating the non-fiction or the research part into a spy thriller in a way that it never becomes too taxing on the reader. As Elmore Leonard in one of his essays regarding tips to writers had said that, “skip the part which the readers tend to skip.” For that the writer must be well aware of what the readers do skip. Forsyth, in my opinion knows that too much on facts and paragraphs in a fast paced thriller will make the reader skip those pages. The reader wants action and speed; he doesn’t want to be burdened with endless facts. But then how can a political thriller be sound and strong without the facts. Be it the endless committees and hit men of the KGB and CIA in the Cold War novels, or be it the various clans and faction of a Jihadist Terror Group. The facts are needed, and Forsyth presents them in a way that they become essential to the reader, that stops him from skipping those pages. In fact they become exciting and interesting to read.

Another one of his forte, he still churns out standalones in a time where crime fiction is infested with series authors. Make no mistake, I am a huge fan of crime series, but somehow my affection for them is limited to detective fiction, and I really dont enjoy spy fiction with a character reappearing as the protagonist time after time. It’s not justifiable, I guess. How can a spy or a political assassin perform time after time again without ever being compromised. It cant happen. And, here is where Forsyth scores big, he writes standalones and creates worship-able protagonists for that single book. Hardly ever has he used the same protagonist more than twice. One for certain was Mike Martin who appeared in the Afghan and the Fist of God. And, another was Paul Devereaux. I guess it takes a Man to create a brand new HERO for every book and make them stand in the tallest way possible. It’s not a cup of tea for the boys.

Why 4 stars then, instead of 5? Two reasons, First the ending came too fast. And, Second,the protagonist almost had a cake walk. The book never gave a single upper hand to the villain. Now that is something I don't enjoy, and this is appearing time after time in his recent works. I love a duel between the two warriors where both the parties have the same ammunition to blast each other to kingdom come, and that creates tension as there comes a situation where anyone can win, as it used to be in his earlier works. Here it was absent. Barring these two points the book was flawless.

So, is Forsyth my favorite spy novelist? Yes he is. For me he is the high priest. I never had any affection for Le Carre’s style, I mean why read a spy thriller if I it is slow and reads like a work of mainstream fiction, I will read mainstream fiction instead. And this is Le Carre’s problem, his book BORES me to death. Neither they are fast, nor do they interest me. So, with Ludlum gone, and Follet not writing spy fiction anymore Forsyth reigns supreme.

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The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was again frightened of being blindsided by a PD James phenomenon of not understanding why the writer is hallowed in the world of crime writing, and whether at all the book I just finished can be considered as crime fiction. But, then I started reading Andrea Camilleri’s The Shape of Water, featuring his protagonist, the great Salvu Montalbano, and immediately felt assured that come what may this reading experience won’t turn into a disaster, and that maybe I will end up liking this book a lot. And, that’s what happened precisely.
The plot of the book is a classic whodunit. A local high flying politician dies under unnatural circumstances, and as the local establishments try to cover up the death by marking it as due to natural causes, Montalbano smells foul and decides to carry on with the investigation. As the victim was a politician, the writer had the opportunity to enlarge the suspect pool, but thankfully he kept it limited within his family and his close associates. The ending was good, and it was laced with a number of twists which made it more enjoyable.
Salvu Montalbano comes out as a policeman who is easily irritated and at times irritates the reader too. Which means, I enjoyed his character. The plot had its fair share of violence, but it also had a nice dose of dark humor. There are scenes in this book which if judged from the point of brutality is very brutal, but still manages to make the reader laugh as it is written with a vein of dark humor.
Definitely a page turner, I enjoyed this book immensely. And, I would recommend this book to anyone who is in search for a page turner, set in a foreign country.


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Bullet for a Star by Stuart M. Kaminsky
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There is a certain pleasure, which I get, while reading fiction filled with original events and characters. This phenomenon was limited to my WW 2 or Cold War spy novels where actual historical figures were made to appear in the books, given dialogues, and scenes. Stuart Kaminsky’s “Bullet For A Star” his first novel to feature the 40’s era Hollywood based private detective Toby Peters, had the same theme, but with a different colour. Here instead of political figures, the men to feature where actual movie stars of that era. The main plot itself is based on the actor Erroll Flynn, while Humphrey Bogart, Jack Warner and at the very end Judy Garland makes cameo appearances.

The plot centres on Eroll Flynn. Someone is trying to blackmail him, as the studio agrees to pay the blackmailer, Peters is called upon by Warner Brothers to make the payment on their behalf. The whole scheme goes wrong as Peters is blindsided, and soon he finds his gun missing, him a murder suspect with dead bodies piling around him. As far as the plot goes there was nothing in it, which has not been written before. But, there was this added factor of the real actors which added a dose of extra pleasure while reading. There is a scene between Peters and Bogart which would go down as one of my the most favourite scene of all times.

I will certainly recommend this book to everyone. This is not only for crime readers. Stuart Kaminsky, kept his book short and made it interesting. In his part he created a plot centred on living figures, which never turned into a parody. This is by far one of the best P.I. books I have read in recent times.


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A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Bill Bryson is awesome, but his friend Stephen Katz is more awesome.

Published in 1998, Walk in The Woods, saw Bryson and his friend Stephen Katz team up once again(they travelled together in Europe, which is described in Neither Here Nor There) to hike the Appalachian Trail. The beginning of the book shows Bryson talking about the difficulties of the hike, as he tries to buy his hiking gear without embarrassing his son(who works in the store). Later as none of his friends responds to his call for becoming his hiking partner, he finds salvation in the form of his childhood friend Stephen Katz from his hometown of Des Moines. Thus they begin their journey from the state of Georgia, as Bryson realises that neither hiking is easy, nor Katz is fit for hiking.

The book is a trademark Bryson, where he mixes non-fiction with a great dose of humour. Though compared to his other books or travelogues the humour quotient of this book was much less. But, nonetheless, where he got the chance, he managed to bring out belly aching laughter from the reader through his descriptions and words. But, what made this book stand apart, or rather makes every Bill Bryson book stand apart is the simplification of the non-fiction part to an extent where not only does the facts and the figures lose any of their importance, but also never becomes boring to read. In a way they merge into the main stream of the travelogue without disturbing its flow.

But, clearly Bill Bryson is not the hero of the adventure, Stephen Katz is. Normally when Bryson travels, he becomes the undisputed King of Laughter. But, with passing pages I gradually realized, that with his dialogues, his guffaws and his penchant for throwing away things, Stephen Katz became the undisputed hero of the books. So much so, that the part where Bryson hikes the smaller parts of the trail without Katz, the book becomes much less interesting. Without Katz the trail loses its glamour!!!

P.S. Cant wait to see the movie with Robert Redford as Bill Bryson, and Nick Nolte as Stephen Katz.


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Death at La Fenice by Donna Leon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“A policeman, married to a thief, with a computer monster and an anarchist for children”

Whenever I start a new book by a female author, I start suffering from the PD James-Syndrome, which simplified, means that whether this book will turn out to be another mediocre fiction in the garb of Crime Writing, with nothing to get excited about, and everything (from reading to the money spent on the book) to be sad about. Why PD James-Syndrome? Because this kind of things generally happens with me after reading her books. But a couple of chapters down the line, Donna Leon settled my anxiety, and gifted me with a fast paced police procedural, which not being too much dependent on either violence or twisted plot, was enjoyed by me.

Helmut Wellauer dies while conducting an opera at Teatro la Fenice. Almost immediately, foul play is suspected and Commissario Guido Brunetti is called on the scene to be handed the responsibility of uncovering the culprit. The plot, was moderate, nothing over the top. For a debut author, it was good as she managed to end the book with a solution which although never left me open mouthed with surprise, but nonetheless made me feel satisfied on reading a good work of crime fiction.

Commisario Brunetti is a family man, and as described in the quote above, married to a schoolteacher who cheats at Monopoly, having a son who is a young radical Communist, but never stops at driving a hard bargain in Monopoly, and a daughter who pesters her father for a personal computer. Although the main plot in itself doesn’t have any traces of humour, but the personal conversations between the family members, specially the conversations during the playing of Monopoly, really gets the reader tickled in the right places.

Summing up, this is a wonderful addition to my reading experience, and although not being over the top or being the epitome of twists, this book will be enjoyed by any reader who loves reading police procedurals.


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Tell No One by Harlan Coben
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What happens when a soccer match, where a hyped and much talked about team was supposed to win with a margin of 5-0, wins by 2-1. The winning team fails to justify the hype and aura surrounding it, though the record books would show that they won. The same problem got associated with this book. It was too much hyped, everywhere you saw. “Tell No One” got blurb-ed as the book which will keep you awake throughout the night just so that you finish it. As far as justifying this hype, the book fell short of its mark. But once you take the hype factor away, it comes out as a neat, fast and twisted crime thriller, filled with a twisted plot, enjoyable(though not believable) characters, and a happy ending.

The plot though air tight was predictable. By the half of the book, any seasoned crime reader would get to know who’s the bad guy. But, knowing the baddie would also make the reader want to know why he did all those bad things. And, although the main baddie gets pointed out, there are other characters whose behaviour and actions would tell the reader loudly that they have got secrets too, which would make the reader stay glued. In short by midway the book transfers from a WHODUNNIT to a WHYDUNNIT or rather WHAT’S HAPPENING.

In toto, this is a arithmetically correct, i.e. no loose ends, work of crime fiction, which is fast and pulpy. Although I enjoy reading Coben’s Myron Bolitar novels more, as they have Myron in them, I nonetheless enjoyed reading this one too. I guess others would enjoy it too, if they are not searching for detailed psychology analysis, or exquisite writing style and impeccable language.


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The Monkey's Raincoat by Robert Crais
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Monkey’s Raincoat is the debut effort by much celebrated American crime novelist Robert Crais. The novel features his protagonist; Vietnam Vet turned Private Investigator, Elvis Cole and his business partner and sidekick Joe Pike.

The novel starts with Ellen Lang, who comes to Crais’ office asking for his help in finding out her husband Mort and their son Perry. Mort was supposed to pick up Perry from school, but neither the husband nor the kid ever reached home. Crais’ writing style baffled me. Frankly speaking, the over-the-top quirky dialogues were not helping me. They seemed unreal and glib. Reading them made me feel that Crais and Cole were both trying too hard.

The plot was not much on the suspense quotient. By 3/4th of the book the plot ceases to have any suspense left in it. But, Crais’ managed to portray Ellen Lang’s troubles and her process of developing her self confidence in a credible manner. The action scene in the climax was good. It was good enough for me to read through the whole scene without skipping a single page.

All in all, a decent debut effort from a famous author. For me it wasn’t a Great Read but it didn’t disappoint me either.



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Open Season by C.J. Box
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Open Season by C.J. Box, published in the year 2001, is the first in the series of crime fiction novels featuring the protagonist Joe Picket, a Game Warden in the Twelve Sleep County, Wyoming. The books opens with a prologue as Picket tries to stop a poacher. The events start piling up from the first chapter itself as the same poacher who Joe had confronted in the prologue is found dead and murdered in his backyard. The police after a routine investigation close the case, and handing over a culprit. But, Joe takes it personally, as the body was found in his own backyard, and apparently not satisfied with the result of the investigation starts to dig deeper into the case. As he digs deeper, he is confronted with the risk of losing the job he loves and thereby losing his family.

The book was nothing extraordinary, as in respect to the plot. This sort of crime novel has been written before and by the half of the book it becomes obvious as to the identity of the culprit. But, what made this one an enjoyable read was the setting. Most of the times a very exceptional thriller gets dull as it doesn’t get the required support from the setting. The setting fails to inject any sort of suspense or sense of adventure in to the plot. But, here wild Wyoming added the perfect amount of adventure quotient, to keep the reader moving on in a steady pace. For a city dweller like me, a crime novel based in the wild becomes much more than a regular crime thriller, it sort of turns into a thriller-cum-travelogue, as it happened here.

Joe Pickett is a family man, with the values in the right places. At times he may seem dull, but given the fact that this is the first book in the series, he comes out as a strong man, who supports his family, and despite all the luring stays true to his profession and values. He is shown in a much toned down human way. Although based in the wild, he is no Tarzan or Lone Ranger. He has emotions, he confesses to be a lousy shot, he even manages to lose his gun.

A well written book, with smooth dialogues, this will be enjoyed by anyone who wants to try a crime novel set outside the dreariness of a concrete jungle, and set in the lush green of the wild.


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The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“And still there is space for books that defy categorisation, books such as Robert Galbraith's new The Cuckoo's Calling which embraces the best of traditional mystery fiction, private-eye pace and the kind of writing that reminds me why I love this genre.”
Val McDermid, The Guardian

Once a certain Sparkling author had recommended to his fans a book about a girl gone to some place. The book turned out to be a marriage manual, though somehow it was marketed as a thriller. After that incident I was very weary of famous writers recommending books, specially thrillers. But then I found Val McDermid speaking her mind on The Guardian, now this is an author I respect. She has her notes right most of the times she speaks, So, with her recommendation and edging from a friend of mine I decided to pick up one of the most talked about book on this year “The Cuckoo’s Calling” by Robert Galbraith.

What was the plot all about? Nothing fancy, it was about a distraught brother asking Cormoran Strike, the protagonist, to find out the truth behind his sister’s suicide, which according to him had a more sinister shade to it. Strike, limping, dumped by his fiancé, without a home and broke, finds his salvation in this case and his “GIRL”-wonder called Robin. And as McDermid put it so clearly in her essay in the Guardian, the story chugs forward smoothly embracing the best of traditional mystery fiction, private-eye pace and the kind of writing that reminds me why I, i.e, Me, love this genre.

The ending wont floor you, it’s not an ORIENT EXPRESS or a chilling Scandinavian Thriller which would either start your head spinning because of the twists or would make you feel sick because of the gore. Its simple, and its straight. And, this is something I enjoyed, for a first time novelist there is always urgency or rather a desire to write something that would twist the ending into something totally unexpected, and most of the time making it rather funny or boring. Galbraith hasn’t gone that way, rather he opted for an ending which although being somewhat expected, had that perfect amount of that “UNEXPECTATION” which made me say “Somewhere I suspected him as the culprit, but never really believed he could do it”. Now that’s good crime writing. Making the reader feel that he is an expert too, and in the same vein retaining that perfect amount of suspense just to prove him right and making him feel the pleasure of knowing the unexpected.

Cormoran Strike, he is unique, but with a little shade of Jack Reacher. Can’t help, can we?? After all they both were military police. He is gruff, he has failed in love and he is broke. He has a persecuting stepfather, and a cruel ex-girlfriend. He needs a case badly, and he gets one, but his salvation comes in another form. In form of ROBIN, his girl-wonder. NO love lost or romantic liaisons between them, she had just got engaged. I love these characters, and I love them more when they triumph against all odds to show that not only its possible to win under any circumstances, but it’s also that Crime Writing will always entertain me.

Lastly, I am frightened, will this be the only strike of Cormoran we will ever get? After all, the writer will be busy filling up casual vacancies left by untimely death. But then again, she won’t have to spend time on her magical pursuits, now that the boys and girls have grown up and those snakes and monsters have been killed. So, I can lay back and feel the afterglow of a great session with a good-ole type crime novel, and safely feel that this is not the end, and that Robert Galbraith though being angry at his real name being revealed will surely pick up the pen to strike us again.

P.S.
1. I guess this is what happens when the following equation is laid down:
Sue Grafton(Private Investigator) + Lee Child(Military Police) + J.K. Rowling(?????) = Robert Galbraith.

2. I never wasted a word on the writing style of the author. Cause neither I am an expert on writing style, nor I have the credibility to question Rowling’s style of writing. But, if you still want to judge how she writes, read her Harry Potter books, or get yourself a copy of Casual Vacancy.


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Melancholy Baby by Robert B. Parker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sunny Randall is no Kinsey Millhone, but thankfully she is no Crodellia Gray either. So, even thought she might not get herself a permanent place in the female Fictional Gumshoe Hall of Fame, but she would definitely not earn a place for all the wrong reasons, like some of her counterparts.

Melacncholy Baby by Robert B. Parker, featuring Sunny Randall, a private detective, starts when she is approached by a girl, who wants to find her biological parents. The girl, Sarah Markham, is convinced that the couple, who had raised her, was not her bio-parents, and that she was adopted.

The book was short, and the plot, not being too complicated or over the top, was tight. Left on its own the plot accounts for 70% of the total pages in the book. The other 30% belonged to Sunny’s personal problems. Her divorce and its aftermath, and her decision of taking help of a psychiatrist. Though not related to the main plot, these pages gelled nicely with the investigation and eventually added more credibility to the character of Sunny Randall.

Though not as famous as Parker’s other creation, the Spenser novels, this book evolved as a fast and uncomplicated read.


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Don't Look Back by Karin Fossum
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

DONT LOOK BACK by Karin Fossum is the second book in the series featuring Inspector Konrad Sejer of Oslo, Norway. Although this happened to be the first book to be translated into English.

The book opens with an ongoing search for a missing 6 year old girl called Ragnhild, which later develops into a murder investigation of a teenage female victim. Whenever I read a Nordic Crime novel, I tend to expect a certain degree of violence and gore. But, surprisingly this book was very low on the count of brutality. Yes, the crime shown was brutal, yes, the motive or the event leading to the crime was brutal and chilling, but the amount of violence used to portray the coldness of the crime was negligible. In a way it was good, as at times, excessive violence bores me. But, creating an atmosphere of fear through words is what suits me the most, because seldom these situations described, becomes boring.

Instead what Fossum used is her very potent mastery over words, and the local ambiance of cold Norway. She is a cunning writer, no doubt. The book as mentioned earlier began with a 6 year old girl getting into a van driven by an unknown man. This man is speaking in riddles, and he is taking the girl to his house. I immediately sat up and felt that something is wrong; I was convinced that this one is going to be a crime related to that child. But, the writer used her mastery to create tension and then twist that tension into the direction of the actual crime i.e. the murder of another teenage woman. For the first few chapters she let the readers believe that the crime was going in a certain direction, only to add the much delicious twist on the way.

Konrad Sejer reminds me of Reg Wexford. He is a family man, a widower actually, spending his days with his dogs. He might not be as enigmatic as Morse or Wallander, but he has a certain calmness which makes him a distinct force in the world of fictional crime fighters. He is a normal policeman, who is effected by his victims, but at the end of the day takes up policing as his profession and not a vocation.

I enjoyed this book, there was no reason to feel otherwise. And I suppose any crime fiction enthusiast would enjoy this book too.


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A Share In Death by Deborah Crombie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“I realized that if I didn’t wake the next morning, no one would miss me”

There are times when I search for a murder mystery, where the crime will take place in a small village; the suspect pool will be restricted to a certain number of people. The detection would be done by an amateur sleuth, with the local police made to look like bumbling fools. And, the plot shouldn’t be too filmsy, although far from being gory or violent, it must be strong with a nice dose of twist. In short something in the style of Agatha Christie or Margery Allingham.

Deborah Crombie’s first book, “A SHARE IN DEAH” featuring the duo of Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and Sergeant Gemma James, had all the above mentioned points, except the amateur detective solving the crime. But since Kincaid was a Scotland Yard man, and the murder fell outside his jurisdiction, he unofficially became the amateur sleuth in the plot. The murder took place in a hotel set in a Yorkshire village; the suspect pool was limited. The local police was led by a foul mouthed no-good inspector and the amount of blood and gore was nil. The plot was a typical whodunit. Highly enjoyable and satisfying. The length and the pace suited the book fine; and the psychological elements if present were mercifully negligible, and if present I failed to notice it.

Duncan Kincaid, is a gentleman detective. No cuss words, no losing temper, and being a bachelor he also had the tendency of being infatuated with the female characters he meets (a sense of déjà vu leading to Inspector Morse, maybe!!). He as an easy going charm and a sense of humor which makes him very difficult to not like. Sergeant Gemma James, a single mother, though being a sidekick and being introduced late into the book, has a personality of her own. She is not just a sidekick lingering in the shadows of the main protagonist, a fact supported by Kincaid, when he talks about and appreciates her ability as a policewoman. And, he is a bachelor, she is a single mother, so definitely something will brew in the next installments between these two.

A highly enjoyable mystery, recommended to any crime fiction reader who likes British style whodunits.


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Back Spin by Harlan Coben
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Myron Bolitar is approached by an old man to help his daughter and son-in-law, both of them ace golfers, to locate their missing son. And, in return Myron’s Company is promised a deal with the husband-wife duo. Myron goes on his own to locate the missing child as his friend Win won’t help him on the case, and manages to recover the child and in the process opens up a can full of lies, both from the past and present.

With each passing book, I am gradually starting to regard Bolitar as one of my most favorite amateur sleuth. Why?
1. In today’s world of police procedurals and private investigators, Myron still holds on the old school charm of being an amateur sleuth.
2. He is normal. He has his sorrows but that doesn’t make him a cynic. Myron solves crime because he has to. He falls in love, he has his heartbreaks and infatuations, and all of these makes him a normal guy and not a booze addict clichéd cop, who doesn’t shave and has a streak of brilliance in him.

Coming back to the book, the plot was tight. For the first time 3/4th part, the plot moves in a steady pace. Though there are few adrenaline rush moments, but it never gets boring. The pace picks up in the last ¼th of the book, where the twists and turns starts coming up hard and fast.

A highly enjoyable and fast read, this book is recommended to anyone who wants to read thrillers featuring amateur sleuths, which is not over the top.


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Slash And Burn by Colin Cotterill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“A good communist is like a tree. He stands firm but knows how to bend in a strong wind. He is fertile but gladly gives up his nuts to less fortunate creatures”

Slash and Burn, the eighth installment of the Dr.Siri mysteries, starts off when an American delegation led by Major Potter visits Laos, starting a joint operation to search for an American helicopter pilot who was lost during the war. Although presumed dead, a photograph delivered to the pilot’s dad, an American senator showed that he was still alive. Dr.Siri is asked to join the expedition. Then as a member of the team dies under unnatural circumstances, Dr.Siri smells foul and starts to investigate his death.

This was my first Colin Cotterill book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Very few writers have the talent of combing crime writing with humor i.e. write a crime novel which would not only be a page turner but would also make the reader laugh. The only name that comes to mind is that of the late John Mortimer, who along with his legendary creation Horace Rumpole created the same potent mixture of crime and humor, just as Cotterill did with his Dr.Siri mysteries.

Dr.Siri is one of a kind. He is an old pathologist who is fighting for his retirement. He is also an amateur sleuth in a Communist country, who doesn’t gives a damn about what the politburo might think about his comments towards Communism. Matching his wit for their own, is his wife Madam Geung, the noodle shop owner, and his friend Civlai, an ex-politburo member and Auntie Bpoo a transgender and a cross dresser, who also is an amateur poet. The plot without being anything extraordinary was twisted, and it also incorporated the events of the helicopter crash in a foolproof manner. The amount of blood and gore was low, rather nil, and the pace was sedate.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would recommend it to every crime fiction reader. Because I realized after finishing, that if you haven’t encountered Dr.Siri, your Crime Fiction experience isn’t complete.


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