Top picks. Looking for a summer read?
For a bit of madness, I decided to compare five of my favourite crime/thriller reads. They’re all start of series books - BLINDSIGHTED (Grant County #1) by Karin Slaughter 4 stars I liked most – the detailed back stories to the characters and how those stories come into the present. Strong tension and dynamics between police officer Lena and her murdered sister, Sara Linton the coroner and her ex-husband, police chief Jeffrey. Didn’t like – the first murder which is bloody and graphic. Followed by graphic scenes at the autopsy. THE MERMAIDS SINGING (Tony Hill and Carol Jordan #1) by Val McDermid 4 stars I liked most – Tony Hill. Tony is a creepy criminal profiler who is working with the police (Carol) to bring down a serial killer. Didn’t like – the sadism and sexual gratification of the killer, which is described in detail for the first two killings. TRIPTYCH (Will Trent #1) by Karin Slaughter 5 stars I liked most – the storyline which weaves together the past and the present in twisty ways you’d never predict. Will Trent has his work cut out bringing down the killer, and the killer is always one step ahead. NOW YOU SEE ME (Lacey Flint #1) by SJ Bolton 5 stars I liked most - Detective Constable Lacey Flint’s secrets and her hidden past which gives this story its edge. A complex, intriguing plot. SILENT SCREAM (DI Kim Stone #1) by Angela Marsons 4.5 stars I liked most – great storytelling with plenty of layers. Didn’t like - a bit of a flat pace. Top picks – TRIPTYCH and NOW YOU SEE ME. Happy Reading. Links to my full reviews on Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1740228019 Triptych https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1595965133 Now You See Me https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1931304815 Mermaids Singing https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1912011932 Blindsighted https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2027028064 Silent Scream
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#7 Discover Ten New Authors of Colour Lola's House by M.Evalina Galang ISBN 0810135868 My Thoughts
We are immersed in paragraphs and passages which describe Filipino women's memories of their experience during the Second World War, when the Filipines was invaded by the Japanese. We read of abductions into sexual slavery, the witnessing of atrocities against family members, the witnessing of rape and torture of other women and young girls in the 'camps' set up by the invading Japanese army. The author is a researcher and she mixes passages from the survivors, with her own impressions of them and of their lives currently at Lola's House, where the women meet after a campaign to 'out' the atrocities of the war, supported by the Filipino media and international women's organisations. The author, an American with Filipino ancestry, is clearly moved by the women and their lives. When she first goes to interview the women, she takes with her several young American girls who befriend the survivors and we also see the reactions of these young girls. I found this mix riveting and we really experience the girls' view of the women. The survivors accounts are horrific. The accounts are told by women now in their eighties and nineties, many of whom had never told their family members what they suffered. They kept their experiences a secret because of the shame piled on them by society after the war. This was made more complicated (I understood) by the fact that many villagers fought as guerrillas and fled to the mountains, whereas the camps were in the cities and urban areas full of Japanese - therefore there were few actual Filipino witnesses who were not either imprisoned themselves or collaborators. At the end of this book, I felt the most sadness over the fact that the women's hopes and campaigning for an official apology from the Japanese government, have not been realised - even after years of fighting for justice and with the backing of the US Senate. The women are so old, there will be few left soon. I found their courage in the telling of their stories deeply moving. I was glad to be an honest witness to their experiences and felt the reading of the book to be an act of solidarity - in defiance of the lack of political will to recognise how terribly these women suffered at the time and then throughout their lives in the silence. I also could not help thinking of the Japanese perpetrators and whether any of them are still alive. Since most of the women were abducted when they were young (12, 13, 14 years old...) and the soldiers were older, then I suppose this is unlikely. The photographs in the book make each of the women more real. Congratulations to the author for her work in documenting these important stories. I give this book 5 stars for the women's stories. I dropped it to 4 stars because of the style of documenting, in which the experiences are mixed in with reflections, campaigning, visits to the women's home villages - but this was not done in a linear manner and made it a little difficult at times to follow the threads. The women felt very real to me and this is a book that will stay in my mind for a long time. I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. These are my honest views. #4 (2) Discover Ten Iconic Authors of Colour There is a hunting accident and a child is killed.
Landreaux and his wife Emmaline follow the Native American tradition and take the terrible decision to give away their own son to the bereaved mother and father - Peter and Nola, who live next door but off the reservation. Far from being depressing, I found it uplifting to read how this profound act affected everyone involved - the four parents, their other children, the Pastor, Landreaux's friend Romeo and Romeo's son, the elders on the reservation. The beauty of the writing, the honesty (which is sometimes painful) and the theme of traditions and their root in history and path into the future - these were all lovely and rare to read about. At the end of the story, I was left full of feeling. In particular for Peter and Nola's difficult daughter, Maggie, who becomes Larose's new sister, and for Larose's own two feisty older sisters, Snow and Josette. I loved all their characters. And of course, LaRose, who is five when the accident happens. Throughout the story, he takes events into his own hands and will become the person on whom they all depend to survive the years of ordeal. Wonderful writing. Wonderful story. And the results are in -
Delighted to announce GOOD GIRL BAD GIRL is a Finalist in the Eric Hoffer Book Award - First Runner Up, Ebook Fiction |
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