Groups / Genres / Crime and detection / Favourite book so far this year?
Maxine says:
What is your favourite crime/detection book you have read this year? For me it has been a good year, so far, so hard to choose. The Tenderness of Wolves? Ice Moon? Borderlands? (All in my reading lists, and more.)
Glenn says:
Currently slogging through Vikram Chandra's very good but very long crime (and everything else) novel, Sacred Games. Favorites from earlier this year: Princess of Burundi, both of the Jo Nesbo books that have been translated, Night Bus, Little Criminals and Midnight Choir (both by Gene Kerrigan). The still-in-the-process-of-being-translated 40s series by Lucarelli...
Maxine says:
Ah yes, Glenn, I have just earlier tonight ordered Little Criminals from Amazon based on your recommendation on your blog. One book I very much liked (read this year) is "The Shape of Water", and of course I read both Caorfiglio books this year. Impossible to decide....I'd be interested to know what you make of Tenderness of Wolves, which I've just finished and enjoyed.
Glenn says:
The Tenderness of Wolves is the Canadian book, by Stef Penney, right? I don't have that one yet--I'm currently reading the Canadian section of Fred Vargas's new (in English) one, and it's as quirky as all her other ones.
Maxine says:
Yes, that's right, it is (famously?) the Canadian one by someone who has never been to Canada but did her research in the British Library. It won this year's Costa award for the best first novel. I only finished it this morning so have not reviewed it yet. I do recommend it, I was sort of against it at the start as I am a bit peverse and am prejudiced against books that win awards or that people make a fuss about, but actually it was very good -- atmospheric, character study, interweaving themes, detailed, etc. I think it would qualify for your "noir" definition, though lighter than some for sure. One could pick a few holes, but extremely impressive I would venture, especially as a debut novel -- she's a talented writer.
Glenn says:
It just occurred to me that I said I was in the middle of the Chandra book and also that I was in the middle of the Vargas book. Not a contradiction exactly. I'm reading the Vargas book on the train on the way to and from work, and the Chandra is too heavy to lug around all day. I sometimes have more than 2 at a time going. Do you do that too?
Maxine says:
I used to when I was younger and had a better brain. Now that I am ancient and my short term memory is nonexistent, I daren't any more. So I read Times/do crossword/sudokus in the morning commute, read book on evening. If I am lucky I get 15 mins or so later on (inbetween end of domestic duties and falling asleep) to continue with book. Therefore, the "one at a time" philosophy seems wise.
One of my daughters is like me though -- she is 11 and currently has Pride and Prejudice, Noughts and Crosses (Malorie Blackman) and a Fruits Basket manga all on the go simultaneously, as well as the school Eng Lit prescribed text.
Peter says:
Hello. My list has certain affinities with Glenn's. I, too, am reading Sacred Games intermittently. In fact, it may be time to pick it up again. As you can imagine, there is a wealth of material to be enjoyed in a book that size. I've especially enjoyed the tales of the main gangster's rise, and the rich lexicon of curse words in several Indian languages, which I have had to figure out without the benefit of a glossary. I had some good dialogue with bloggers in India about the novel, and it seems the book has oodles of street cred in Mumbai/Bombay. My correspondents there loved the book.
I've recently enjoyed both the Håkan Nesser novels that have been translated into English as well as The Devil's Star, He Who Fears the Wolf, The Glass Devil and Chourmo, the second novel in Jean-Claude Izzo's Marseilles trilogy. But I think the best of my recent run of excellent reading have been The Broken Shore by Peter Temple and a superb story called "Wedding in Voerde" by Gunter Gerlach in Passport to Crime.Maxine says:
Welcome, Peter. You've reminded me that I enjoyed Borkmann's Point (Nesser) too -- also read this year. I've asked an impossible question. The Broken Shore is in my TBR pile, but based on both yours and Glenn's words, sounds as if I should include Sacred Games too.
mallard says:
I've just finished the Broken Shore last night. Unquestionably a very good book, but I think more admirable than enjoyable iyswim. It reminded me very slightly of the Carofiglio books, in that you are fully aware that the hero has a day to day life, and concerns other than the crime, so a more realistic approach to crime investigation.
mallard says:
Peter - is the plotting in Chourmo as complex as in the first in the Marseille Trilogy?
Maxine says:
Hello, Mallard, nice to see you here. If Broken Shore is similar to Carofiglio, then I should definitely move it up my pile.
Peter says:
Mallard: The plotting is similar in the two novels. In both books, Fabio Montale is driven by concerns related to friends and family into issues far more complicated. In both, the plotting is heavily laden with atmosphere, meditation, sounds, sights, and smells -- no straight, spare storytelling here. I'll look forward to the English translation of Solea, which I think is due out in June.
I've just looked back at the posts about Izzo on my blog, and I realize that I wrote almost exclusively about atmosphere, music, poetry and social questions, and very little about plot. Here's a link to those posts, if you're interested: http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/search/label/Fabio%20Montale
If Carofiglio is similar to The Broken Shore, I'll have to move him up on my list.
lizzysiddal says:
Well, hello. I spy kindred spirits in this thread.
Stef Penney's novel is absolutely brilliant, isn't it? Surprisingly though, even though the murder is the central plot driver, I don't think of it as a crime novel. There's just so many other layers: landscape, history, family relationships.
Fred Vargas is a favourite of mine. I just wish they'd translate her backlist faster!
As for Chandra's "Sacred Games", I've stalled at the 450 page mark. I'm not convinced that it's worth the effort of continuing. I like literary fiction, I like crime fiction, but this novel is annoying me intensely because it can't decide what it wants to be.Peter says:
Perhaps you are reading it intermittently rather than stalled!
Peter
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Detectives Beyond Borders
Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/
Maxine says:
Hello Lizzy. A bit off topic for this thread, but I see from your Revish page that you are reading The White Darkness. My eldest daughter read that book recently and very much enjoyed it. Over at my blog Petrona we have a post currently about "the most influential crime fiction novel of the decade" and Vargas's books are featuring on that. I have read one of hers and have three "to be read", so I should get on with it.
Thanks, Peter, "intermittently" has a nice, respectable ring to it!Peter says:
The last book I read "intermittently" was "The Decline and Fall ... " -- two bursts over five months, and I got the job done, every funny footnote and coy insult against monks of it!
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Detectives Beyond Borders
Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/lizzysiddal says:
Hi Maxine
I've read all of Vargas. I'll post my reviews when I dig them out.
Just wanted to namecheck the best crime novel I have ever read: Red Leaves by Thomas H Cook. It is utterly phenomenal!
KarenAustCrime says:
Hi everyone
Fred Vargas's latest - Wash This Blood etc etc was indeed very very good - had a sort of sense of "The Madness of.... " for me.
Jan Costin Wagner's Ice Moon was a ripper of a book for something unexpected / outside the norm - an exploration of sorrow and grieving with crime giving it some structure.
I keep saying it and I guess I will keep saying it - if you want to push the envelope way way way way out of your comfort zone, Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindquist is graphic horror / comedy / sort of crime but I loved it to tiny little pieces.
I read The Broken Shore last year - and my views are probably fairly well known but it was a really important book for Australian crime fiction and I thoroughly and utterly loved it. Along those lines - Diamond Dove by Adrian Hyland is the next good, unusual, interesting step forward so far this year in Australian books that I've read.
Maxine says:
Hi Karen and very nice to see you here. I just finished Ice Moon and agree with you, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Well worth what seems like an interminable wait from first seeing it reviewed in HB in the USA to buying it in PB over here (UK).
Right, must get onto that Lindquist, scary thought it sounds. I've bookmarked Diamond Dove already based on yours and other recommendations.
Thanks for your comment, Lizzy. I bought Red Leaves ages ago when it was "book of the week" on Amazon but have never read it. Clearly another one to move up my pile. Looking forward to your reviews of Vargas -- my review of the one I've read (Three Evangelists) is on Euro Crime,and there are reviews of her other books there, too. (www.eurocrime.co.uk).
I agree with your take on Penney. (My review of that, incidentally, was posted on Euro Crime last Sunday if you want to take a look.) I nominated it on the Crimespace thread for "most influential crime novel of the decade", partly because they were mostly voting for Da Vinci Code and partly because I think that because it isn't "pigeonholed" into the genre (as well as the awards it won) it might break into the mainstream and be a strong late finisher by 2009, maybe even overtaking DVC. Which would be good as although nobody can deny the influential quality of DVC it wasn't that good, either in writing style or as a logical mystery.
Duddy says:
Hi - just come over here for some tips on what to read next. I don't read much crime but I'm thoroughly enjoying one recommended (and lent) to me by CrimeFic Reader called THE SAVAGE GARDEN by Mark Mills. It doesn't seem like the other crme novels I've read because there isn't an obvious crime to be solved at the beginning but it's mysterious, very interesting and well written.
Peter says:
That's an interesting description, Duddy. The book sounds as if it might have some of the same appeal as the Swedish crime novels I've been reading, which never open with, say, a body being discovered or a killing in progress. There always seems to be a slow buildup.
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Detectives Beyond Borders
Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/Maxine says:
I recognise that ear! I'm quite intrigued by the Mark Mills book. Sadly, I've discovered that the Lindqvist isn't available on UK Amazon -- or am I secretly relieved, as I don't like horror? (This sounds as if it might be a crime/horror crossover.)
In the meantime, Sun Storm and The Princess of Burundi have just arrived in the post, and I still haven't started those Vargases (Vargi?) yet. However, I now have two books on which to test Peter's definition.Peter says:
I expect you'll like the Princess of Burundi, which is my current reading. It has a nice, slow buildup, and gives me all sorts of ideas about psychological crime novels and ensemble crime novels that I'm sure will give rise to a comment or two when I'm done with the book.
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Detectives Beyond Borders
Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/KarenAustCrime says:
Duddy - I really liked The Savage Garden - more of a whydunnit and the garden at the centre of it - well I thought that was fascinating.
Maxine - that's a pity about the Lindqvist - the horror component is not the main part but it's worth mentioning as some people see "vampire" and think one of those handsome men swanning around solving crimes type books and it most definitely isn't one of those.
Peter says:
And now I can say that I suspect you'd like Kjell Eriksson as well as his writing. I just returned from a reading by him, Hakan Nesser, Helene Tursten and Inger Frimansson. All were personable and accessible, especially considering their hectic travel schedule. And, though some of this might be due to Eriksson's modesty and slight shyness about speaking English, he seemed like a highly likeable and down-to-earth type o' guy. I recommend going to hear him read, if you have the chance.
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Detectives Beyond Borders
Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/Maxine says:
I've just finished Sun Storm by Asa Larsson, so that's now a contender for my favourite. Very good.
KarenAustCrime says:
Wasn't it interesting Maxine - I found it very compelling even though both of the main characters were fairly unattractive human beings. (Well unlikeable is probably a better word).
Maxine says:
Yes, I agree, Karen -- I don't think I actually liked anyone in the book apart from the 2 main detectives, and they didn't come into it all that much. Rebecka reminded me a bit of Annika in Liza Marklund's stories, though Annika has gone further along "life's journey". But by the end I definitely came round to Rebecka, if not Sanna. I liked the unsentimentality of it all, and the relationship between Rebecka and her boss is definitely different!
mallard says:
I thought that the relationship between Rebecka and her boss was starting to become a bit of a cop out into romantic territory by the end. Otherwise as a former lawyer I felt that the book was spot on about the pressures and at times toxic atmosphere of a law firm! I quite liked Rebecka - and the surrogate grandfather figure bloke :). By the end I think you agreed with Rebecka about Sanna, feeling tempted to belt her one.
Maxine says:
I rather liked the way the relationship took over that boss against his will, and how Rebecka was oblivious to it, but call me an old softie ;-)
I thought the pressures of work were well done, too. The grandad was the best character, without a doubt. Sanna drove me nuts too, and her brother, I get very irritated with people like that (eg Sanna's lack of being bothered about her children, passive victim mentality, the visions, etc), but as you realised why she and Victor were the way they were, I found myself sympathising: albeit in the exasperated kind of way that Rebecka does! So I felt much less inclined to belt her one at the end compared with the beginning and middle.
I love the spelling of Rebecka, and funnily enough (?), I've just started The Princess of Burundi (Peter/Glenn recommendation) and someone in that is called Rebecka, same spelling, too.
Sanna is a common Swedish name, I guess -- it was the name of the wife in Ice Moon, and the daughter of a Swedish colleague of Malcolm's has that name, too. Very pretty.
Maxine says:
PS not sure what happened to my last comment-- it has registered but disappeard. If it ever does appear (reappear?) I apologise for the apparent contradiction. Having said to Karen that I didn't like anyone in the book, I've agreed with Mallard that the grandfather type character is my favourite. I had simply forgotten him when I responded to Karen, my memory being pretty non-existent. Sorry.
Peter says:
What I need to do now is compile a list of books that I can buy in the UK that are not yet available in North America. Give me some shopping to do on my vacation!
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Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/
Maxine says:
I see the comments are now displaying. I finished the Princess of Burundi -- I did like it, but not quite as much as some of the other Scandinavian noir I've read recently. I think the series will mature, though. I've also read Red Leaves since last commenting here, thanks to Lizzy's recommendation (and owning it, unread). It was pretty good, too. Not sure I'd call it the best crime novel I've ever read, but certainly a good one.
Maxine says:
Since the post above, I've read Diamond Dove by Adrian Hyland, the Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill, The Shadow Walker by Michael Walters, Read Leaves by Thomas H Cook (see above) and am currently reading The Broken Shore by Peter Temple. An embarrassment of riches! How to choose a "best" from these is impossible.
Max says:
For a light read, I really enjoyed Champagne Kisses Cyanide Dreams by Ralph Graves. It takes place on Martha's Vineyard and is full of snarky humor.
The Night Ferry by Michael Robotham is one of my favorite recent crime stories. It is told in first person by a female Sikh detective constable in London who gets involved when a friend from her school days is murdered.
jingle says:
I think my fave this year was I'll Be Seeing You by Mary Higgins Clark. I definitely recommend it!
patsina55 says:
Hi everyone - I found two new (to me) writers this year whose work I've enjoyed:
One is Steven Berry, whose book about the Templars predates The DaVinci Code but has some similar themes. His new book "The Venetian {Betrayal?}", is being released tomorrow. I've forgotten the exact title, but I've pre-ordered it from Amazon.
The other is actually a pair of writers, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Their book "Brimstone" is the first of a three-part subseries within a series, and I'd recommend that book as a starting point - I didn't care for "Relic" or "Reliquary", but they seemed to hit their stride at this book.
Has anyone else read anything by these authors?Maxine says:
My list of best reads of 2007 is now up on Petrona, my blog,http://petrona.typepad.com/petrona/2008/01/my-favourite-bo.html, complete with links to my reviews of all the books. Enjoy! (I certainly did.)
Max says:
So far this year? I would have to say The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo. I'm a bit over half way through so this may be a premature evaluation but I am finding it a terrific read. Interesting plot, I like the way the story is being developed, Harry Hole is a character I want to know more about.
Peter says:
A year is such a long time! Sometimes I feel like I should post my favorites a few times a year. Maybe I'll do that for 2008. For 2007, though, I've posted some of my favorites at: http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/search/label/Detectives%20Beyond%20Borders%27%20best%20of%202007 Max, The Redbreast is on my list.
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Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/
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