Saturday, January 23, 2021

MYSTERIES AND THRILLERS MINI REVIEWS

When January 1, 2021 finally rolled around I was in a state of despair with nothing to look forward to but January 6 (which brought only more anxiety) and January 20. Finally the longest wait ever was over. Meanwhile I decided to sink into the most distracting reading I could find. For me that is mysteries and thrillers where the pages fly by, justice gets done and the bad people get what is coming to them. It was a good decision! Here are some short reviews of those, for me, sanity saving books.


 The Searcher, Tana French, Viking, 2020, 446 pp

I would categorize this one as a literary crime novel. Tana French has always embedded her excellent plots in a literary style. I have read all of her previous seven books and appreciate how she has branched out in each one.

A former Chicago cop, after a divorce and deep disillusionment with law enforcement, has moved to Ireland. While fixing up his cottage and getting to know the local people and customs in his remote village, he gets pulled into a missing person can by a curious child who shows up on his property.

Though the story takes a while to get going, Tana French builds tension on every page until all the clues come together. The book is a study in culture clash, small town secrets and sad truths. I loved it.


The English Girl, Daniel Silva, HarperCollins, 2013, 473 pp

The 13th book in Daniel Silva's Gabriel Allon series is a political thriller. Allon is an art restorer in his public life but also works as an assassin and spy for Israeli intelligence. He is a master at all three roles.

Over the course of the series, Allon has forged relationships with both British and American intelligence. In The English Girl, he is called in via MI6 to find the missing mistress of the (fictional) current Prime Minister of Britain. The criminals behind the kidnapping of Madeline Hart figure the British governing party will pay a huge ransom to protect their guy at 10 Downing Street from scandal.

When Allon penetrates the operation, he finds himself once more at the potential mercy of some ruthless enemies he has made over the years, Russian enemies that is.

Even after 12 books this author managed to raise my heart rate while he began to set up a possible new future for his hero. Also intriguing was how deeply the story penetrated into Putin's true intentions for his country and the rest of the world, intentions that nearly destroyed our democracy over the past four years, intentions he has had since he became Russia's leader in 2012.


Mona Lisa Over Drive, William Gibson, Bantam Books, 1988, 308 pp

The final book in Gibson's Sprawl trilogy is a cyberpunk thriller. He gives us more of his groundbreaking unleashing of cyberspace onto the world of fiction. He exhibits some new fiction chops including deeper characters and an even more nuanced look at the machinations of the powerful Japanese underground, the uses of celebrities, and the mysterious beings behind artificial intelligence. 

His story brings back some characters from the first two books (Neuromancer and Count Zero) while adding Mona with her murky past, a new sort of console jockey, and an endearing but mentally challenged dude named Slick Henry who broke my heart.

After over 300 pages of non-stop action comes the intriguing ending meant to explain the history of these stories, the "why" of When It All Changed. It did not explain as much as it cliff-hangered me.

Will the next trilogy, The Bridge Trilogy, give more answers? Probably the plot will only thicken.


Hard Truth, Nevada Barr, G P Putnam's Sons, 2005, 324 pp

I ended my spree with the 13th book in Nevada Barr's mystery/crime series, all set in National Parks. I started reading this series five years ago and only have six more to go. I am getting there!

Park Ranger Anna Pigeon arrives at Rocky Mountain National Park for a temporary assignment as District Ranger in the midst of a search for three missing girls. On her first day two of the girls emerge from the woods, dressed only in ragged filthy underwear, traumatized and close to starvation. One girl is still missing. The two are rescued by campers but claim to remember nothing.

In a series where the plots are always complex and twisted, Nevada Barr has kicked it up yet another notch. Included in her tale are a wheel-chair bound paraplegic woman, a fringe Mormon community, mistaken identities, and a serial killer who specializes in harming children. 

Evil spreads through the breathtaking beauty of the park. Danger, even to animals, lurks in every valley, over the next peak, and even in the rangers's cabins. This is almost a horror novel.

I must admit that the physical and psychological damage done to the female children was hard to take. Be warned. Anna Pigeon's canny investigating and fearless strength provide much needed balance.


Have you read any of these thrillers? Who are your favorite thriller writers?

22 comments:

  1. It has been a long time since I read Gibson's Trilogy thought th I reread the first book recently. I may reread the other two books and move on to the second trilogy.

    They are such engaging and influence books.

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    1. I am going to move on to the second trilogy soon. Engaging is a good adjective!

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  2. I plan to read The Searcher at some point as well; glad you liked it. I read several of the Anne Pigeon books when we were on vacation one year and a few after as well; good author. Her last book, What Rose Forgot didn't work well for me though.

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    1. I don't know. I have not read any of her books outside the series. I wonder what I will think about What Rose Forgot when I get done with the Pigeon books.

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  3. I've read and enjoyed Tana French's and Nevada Barr's books - haven't read the others. I have read some of Daniel Silva's books but not this one. I've sort of gotten away from mysteries recently. I've been mostly into literary and historical fiction, but I agree nothing can be more distracting than a good mystery.

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    1. Yes, distraction was what I was going for. Now back to my favorite literary authors.

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  4. i've sort of done the same sort of thing, only in sci fi... i read Neuromancer when it first came out and was rather quizzled by it at the time... i might try it again some time this year; six volumes of it might be overwhelming, tho... tx for the rundown on those kinds of books which i actually do read occasionally; it's a big help, knowing a little about what to expect...

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    1. Yes, sci fi would also serve as a good distraction in troubled times. Thanks for the tip. Glad my rundown was useful to you.

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  5. I have a few Tana French books coming up. Not that one though. You're definitely making me want to re-read The Sprawl series again. I read them back in the later 80's and they had a significant impact on my psyche. Did 'Overdrive' have the assassin Molly in it? I remember her having implanted mirror-specs and redirected tear ducts.... Gibson was (and still is) SO ahead of his time!

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    1. Yes, Overdrive has Molly, who is going by a different name but has the implanted mirror-specs. In fact I would say she is the heroine of the tale. I can't wait to start the next trilogy.

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  6. I have been intimidated by William Gibson for a long time. I own a few of this books but have been unable to actually read them. Reading your review of his book makes me want to read them soon - so much good stuff in them!

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    1. I regret all the time I put off reading those early Gibson books. So much good stuff!!

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  7. I'm so glad that the 20th went off without a hitch. I know my partner was worried that someone would try and get to Biden and Harris. I'm so glad that didn't happen!

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  8. These types of books do make such good distractions!

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  9. Wow you had some action-packed tales going on in January! We all needed it though as Jan. 20 was the longest wait in history. I think I aged by the whole ordeal. So much anxiety since Nov election. These look good for distraction.

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    1. The worst! Yes, another way that books get us through. And sometimes even make us feel younger, don't you think?

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  10. I really need to read Nevada Barr's novels!! Every time you write a review of her books, I am intrigued!

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    1. Oh, I am sure you would like her books! Start with Track of the Cat, her first one. The only trick to reading her is to keep track of the characters as they show up. There are always quite a few. Sometimes I make a list as I read.

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    2. I downloaded the ebook edition of Track of the Cat... Now to find the time to read it with all of the themed books I have planned to read the next couple of months.

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    3. How exciting. I really hope you like it. If you downloaded an ebook, it will still be there when you are ready to read it.

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