Knots and Crosses

Jun 112010

Is it worth reviewing books which are 23 years old I wonder?  In the age of Wikipedia and Amazon is it possible to add anything new with another review of a book written before the Facebook generation were even born?  I don’t know the answer to that question, but I’m going to review Knots and Crosses (Ian Rankin) anyway because it’s a fine read and you should all buy it.

Knots and Crosses is the first of the Rebus novels, but it is not the first Rebus book I read (that was The Naming of the Dead last year).  So in some respects, while Rebus was new to Rankin as he wrote the book, to me he was more like a friend I’d met before and wanted to know more about.

John Rebus, at the start of our story, is a Detective Sergeant in the Lothian and Borders Police force, living and working in Edinburgh.  He has a troubled past, although the details initially are fuzzy we learn he was in the Army and the SAS before suffering a nervous breakdown of some sort, and eventually joining the Police.  His ex-wife lives with his young daughter, while his brother carries on their father’s profession of hypnotist.

A serial killer is lose in Edinburgh and Rebus is assigned to the case along with a large number of other officers.  Young girls are being abducted and killed, and it’s a race to the end to stop the killer before they manage to complete their dastardly plan.

To complicate matters, John’s brother is involved in something he shouldn’t be, Rebus himself is getting cryptic messages delivered and a reporter is sniffing about for a corrupt police story that might be the end of Rebus’ career.

Knots and Crosses is pretty short, certainly compared to some of the later Rebus novels, and while worth reading it does have some flaws.  I’m not sure we should expect anything else in the early stages of an authors work and it’s clear the flaws didn’t stop this book being well read and well loved, nor did they stop Rankin’s career taking off.

The pace is sometimes a little clumsy, with gaps where I would have liked more detail and too much detail in sections where we needed some more speed.  The underlying plot is a bit overcomplicated, but that’s an issue of personal taste and I’m sure some people loved the drama it brings.  What really sets this book apart and makes it worth reading is Rebus.  He’s utterly compelling even in the first book.  Not only is he compelling but for the most part he’s impressively real in texture.  His interactions with the other characters are always engaging, and the dialog is entertaining and solid.

It’s easy to get emotionally attached to the characters, and that helps with the rising tension towards the end of the story.  Some characters are a little cliche and probably don’t get the attention they deserve, but overall, the story is engaging, the writing compelling and the conclusion satisfying.

Well worth a read, at the very least because it’ll give you a good grounding in the Rebus character, which you’ll need when you pick up the much better later books in the series.  Better than average despite being a very early novel from Rankin.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

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Look Back In Hunger

Jun 042010

I don’t often read non-fiction books and its even more rare for me to read an autobiography.  A couple have caught my eye and I’ve thought ‘yes, I’d like to read that’ but not gone any further. I’m not sure why I find them so hard to get in to but then everyone’s interests are different and my taste mainly runs to fiction.

However, Jo Brand is one of my all time favourite comedians, I love her dry sense of humour and honest observations about life, and have been a fan for many years.  Look back in Hunger has just come out in paperback and all my excuses were out of the window (these days I can’t afford to buy many hardbacks and then there are the space issues which are a completely different consideraton).  I started reading yesterday morning and could not put it down.  I finished it last night and was struck by just how well her sense of humour translates into writing.

She’s led an amazing life by all standards and some of the trials of growing up she talks about are just laugh out loud funny.  As a Psychiatric Nurse for many years, she has a lot of insight into serious mental health issues that aren’t commonly talked about but she delivers her experiences of them with an up front, no nonsense attitude with a twist of that dry humour.  The other thing I love about her and it comes across well in the book is her sense of style and her weight.  She makes no apology for who she is or how she looks and has never compromised that.  In short, the woman has balls!  And I love her for that.

If you are a fan of Jo Brand, this is a must read.  If you like funny, thoughtful, insightful biographies, this is a must read.

Just read it ;)

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

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The Price

Jun 042010

District Attorney Will Sullivan once had the dream and potential to become the next Governor of Massachusets.  Now his dreams are for his terminally ill daughter to live.  His wife Joanna, refuses to deal with that reality, clinging to any hope she can and Will is afraid of losing them both.  When miracles seem to happen to patients around them, Will is approached by an odd counsellor who says he can help but something about him seems off.  With his political career about to collapse around him, his only concern being his wife and his daughter, Joanna begs him to continue campaigning.  When his daughter makes a full recovery, Will is certain all is not right and his wife begins disappearing at night.  Miracles might indeed happen, but there is a price.

What price would you pay to save the life of someone you loved?

I found this book much spookier than The Harrowing, even though its supernatural elements were less evident.  I can only put it down to clever writing, a well laid out setting and a good tale.  I always knew where I was in relation to the story and everyone you meet, even briefly,  felt well rounded.  Sokoloff’s easy to read style of writing was again very much present and the smooth flow meant I had to keep the pages turning.  I really had to restrain myself from jumping ahead and see what the answers were and again, was glad I didn’t.  The main characters were excellent and I found I empathised with Will the most, as Joanna was emotionally closed off for a lot of the book.  There were a few scenes that made the hair on the back of my neck prickle and I really found it hard to put it down, needing to find out what was happening next and what the ultimate resolution would be.

A very intriguing and engaging second book from Alexandra Sokoloff.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

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The Harrowing

Jun 032010

Already lonely, Thanksgiving is hard on Robin Stone when Mendenhall, her residence hall at Baird College, empties out for the holiday.  To her surprise she finds that four other students have also chosen to remain at the hall, and while very different to each other they become bonded by their choice to remain for the long weekend.  As they entertain themselves, they become aware of another presence slightly oppressive, persuasive and they play a dangerous game thinking they know who it is.  Five at the hall at the start of the holiday.  How many will be left when the hall fills once more?

I’d heard good things about Alexandra Sokoloff’s work but I do like to make my own mind up about an author that is new to me.  The Harrowing is the first book she released and is a mild horror/suspense.

The first thing that struck me is that she has a very fluid and easy to read style of writing, something that is always a treat to find.  The second is she has a knack for getting you right into the story and in tune with the characters right from the start.  My third and final impression was, while the story wasn’t overly complicated, it had plenty of twists and turns to keep me turning the pages and enough tension that I wanted to peek at the back to find out if it was all going to come out OK.  I managed not to and am glad I didn’t, as I would have missed out on a lot of the build up.  The characters were well created, I could empathise with them easily and I cared and worried about what the outcome would be for them.

Considering it was a debut novel, it was an extremely engaging, enjoyable and tense read.  I definitely look forwards to reading more by Alexandra Sokoloff.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

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