When I got to know that Kepler remains at the top of the Scandinavian crime fiction list the world over,I knew I just had to read the books.I picked this one up immediately because the title intrigued me .I never start a series with the first book because I feel I can decide better if im to read the series if I randomly choose a book and like it.So this is the fifth book in the Joona Linna series and can also be read as a stand-alone.
The plot:
The story begins with a voyeur clip sent to the National Criminal Investigation Division.The clip is of a woman doing everyday things.However just minutes after ,the woman is found brutally stabbed to death in a frenzied manner,leaving her unrecognisable.When this pattern keeps repeating itself ,they realise they are dealing with a sadistic serial killer and are horrified to know that any attempt to save the victims is impossible because the race against time starts as soon as they've been sent a video clip.
The case is being investigated by Margot Silverman and things get even more complicated when it becomes clear that the Stalkers hallmark style is identical to that of a previous murderer who is currently locked away.The question then arises if theres a copy-cat murderer on the loose or if there is some relation between the case that happened years ago.Things keep getting complicated when the forensic expert and hypnotist Erik Maria Bark is also involved in what has happened.Morover Joona Linna comes back from the dead!
My Views:
This plot unfolded in a maze of narratives and it was high intensity drama from the word go.I pulled an all nighter for this one.I just couldnt put it down.The intrigue level is very high and you dont see the twists coming.The characters are very well written and it can be read as a stand alone.Although its the fifth book in the Joona Linna series,he has very little role to play in this book.
However in the second half on the book the descriptions get too tedious.I was on the edge of my seat and literally tearing my hair out wanting to know what happens next when I was forced to read descriptive passages about the weather and the lake and the surroundings.My patience was wearing thin at this point and I was on the verge of shouting 'Just cut to the chase' more than once.But the unexpected twists saved the day and kept me going.
The part about how Joona Linna deals with things was a bit over the top but then I guess that was expected since he was brought back from the dead and some larger than life drama was on order.
It was just impossible to crack this one.It is a masterful,suspenseful tale and I really enjoyed it.
What more can i say---Ive just discovered KEPLER!
I rate it a 4 out of 5.
I am on a thriller reading spree and I spotted this on the top of the NYTimes Bestseller list .Now let me be forthright and say that I am not a James Patterson fan but I picked this one up to see if I could join the fan league.Turns out,some people never learn.
Plot:
This is the 16th book in the Women's Murder Club series.Detective Lindsay Boxer and her husband Joe are fighting to save their marriage when a bomb goes off in downtown San Fransisco killing twenty five people.As if this werent enough,the man she and Joe arrest as the bomber denies the allegations and turns the tables on Lindsay ,demanding she be put on trial.
There is also a parallel story running along in which a wave of mysterious and unnatural heart atttacks claim seemingly unrelated victims across town.
Lindsay must connect the dots and race against time in both the investigations to expose the real culprit and also save herself.
My Views:
This book certainly didnt manage to turn me into a fan.But before I go on and say what I didnt like about it let me begin on a positive note.The chapters are delightfully short,just the way I like them.So I finished reading this book in a few hours.I found it a tad boring at the start but I persisted because I wanted to see where it was going.I must admit ,it got a bit dramatic during the Bombers trial and I began reading it at a fantastic speed thinking at the time that I might have been a bit hasty in writing it off but the plot just fizzled and the interest and intensity plummeted in the latter half.The ending felt flat and I wasnt happy at all with the way it was resolved.Everything seemed made up for extra effect.These seemed like larger than life characters.
Moreover the parallel story was not eased into the main plot but felt hastily pushed when it was least expected and needed just to build the tempo because of a weak main plot.The serial killer story was just ridiculous because it is hard to imagine a mental patient locked up for 40 years can be so ingenious.The idea that he goes out at night through secret subterranean tunnels to commit murders was too far fetched.
I didnt really like any of the characters either but maybe it was the after effect of reading something so predictable or because I didnt have a background about their lives.I have no idea about the other books in the series so its possible that the characters have evolved .This can be read as a stand alone novel if you just have a few hours and want a breezy read.
I rate it a 2 and a half out of 5.
Everyone knows Paula Hawkins.The author who shot to fame after 'The Girl On The Train' was touted as an international bestseller.Honestly, I wasnt too impressed with the debut novel.(reviewed here).But those who read this blog know that I never give up on authors so easily and so when I heard about 'Into The Water',I knew that I had to pick it up.Finished reading it over the last weekend.
The plot:
A single mother, Nel Abbot is found dead at the bottom of the river that runs through town.Earlier in the summer, a teenage girl Katie,who happens to be Nel's daughter's best friend,met the same fate.Nel has always lived in the small town of Beckford in the Mill House by the river.The river has a history of its own and long submerged secrets and Nel was completely obsessesed with the stories of the women who had lost their lives here.Moreover Nel's daughter Lena believes that her mother killed herself.
Are these deaths related?
Lena finds herself in the care of her mothers sister,Jules who has been summoned to the very town she ran away from and vowed never to return.
Lots of secrets,a haunting past and one explosive finale.
My Views:
I picked this up as a weekend read and I dont regret it.This was exactly what I needed.
'Into the Water' has multiple narrators.And when I say multiple,I mean not just two or three but ....brace yourselves, because there are 11 people telling their viewpoints.Now,it does get a bit difficult to get to know each of these people and I had to turn back a few times to recall who it was I was reading about.So you really need to pay attention while reading because this book sweeps you to the eerie little town of Beckford and makes sure you dont leave it until you find out what has happened.Yes!The story is chilling and fast paced and it made me very curious.I just couldnt wait to find out what it was all about.
All the characters are in some way linked to the dead woman.Moreover they are unreliable narrators which only adds to the intrigue.None of the characters are very likeable but what they have to say is very interesting.I loved the complexity in their nature.There is a psychic to add to the mystery.
There is history entwined with the present.It was creepy to read about the river and what lies beneath its calm exterior.
The emotional thread that runs between the estranged siblings and the cause of all the misunderstanding was remarkably captured.It was a collage of the fragility of human relationships and emotion and mystery.
Loved how it all ended and I must say it left me gobsmacked.I liked it way better than 'The Girl on the Train' and her next book is already on my TBR list.
I rate it a 4 out of 5.
I was book hunting when I came across 'The Woman in Cabin 10' by Ruth Ware.I realised that I hadnt read any of her books before and decided to start with the first book.I also happened to read a few months ago that Reese Witherspoons production company is adapting this novel into a major motion picture.Curiosity got the better of me and I picked it up this weekend.
The plot :
This story is being told by Nora, an author by profession,living by herself,is reclusive and is haunted by her past.One day she gets an email from Flo,who is the matron of honour for Clare's (Noras childhood friend)wedding.The email is an invitation to Clare's hen night.
Nora and Clare used to be childhood friends.But Nora leaves her hometown and never looks back after a break up with her boy friend, James.After that she loses contact with everyone she knows from that town and decides to leave her past behind and start fresh.The big question is 'Why?'.
After much thought she accepts the invitation .The hen party is arranged in an isolated glass and steel estate set in the woods in winter..There is no connectivity there.The land phone is dead.And she just finds out that Clare is getting married to her ex,James.
And so the party begins and the next thing she knows is that she is lying battered in a hospital under the suspicion of murder.She has no memory of the events that occur and she is trying hard to fit the pieces together.
My Views:
I have conflicting views about this book.While I was reading it, I loved the fact that it was incredibly fast-paced and easy to read.I was fascinated and thought that I had got my hands on a super thriller.But after having read it,when I put it down for a minute,I found the plot to be very predictable.The story builds up well but falls flat as it progresses.I figured out the plot even before I reached halfway and that annoyed me.
The poem at the beginning was unnerving and misleading and there was nothing creepy about the story.The characters were a bit exaggerated but from the supporting cast I liked Nina for her sharp wit.There was a lot of rehashing and in places it got a bit repetitive.
The group behaved like they never grew up but I totally agree with a line in the book which says 'People dont change ,they just get more punctilious about hiding their true selves'.
Maybe it was the seriousness of what happens that it cant be wiped away.However here the whole focus was on the thriller part of it and that went a bit downhill.
Its not like I dont recommend this book.Maybe its something which can be read on a flight or if one is just looking for a quick read.
I rate it a 3 out of 5.
