Book Review – Crook Manifesto – Colson Whitehead

Book Details:

Title: Crook Manifesto

Author: Colson Whitehead

Genre: Crime Fiction

Year of Release: 2023

Read x-page hardcover edition in February 2024.

Book Review:

In this sequel to Whitehead’s novel Harlem Shuffle, we see the characters fast-forwarded several years from 1960s New York City to 1970s Harlem, in three distinct stories and time periods during this violent decade.

Whitehead, as with the first novel in this trilogy, has done an amazing job writing the city as a character. Harlem is one of the most important characters of the novel, and Whitehead brings it to life to an extent that the reader feels completely transported into this gritty, vibrant place. Whitehead does a great job demonstrating the corruption in the police and leadership of New York City during this time, and showing the challenge of anyone trying to make their life amongst this environment. Whitehead does this by showing, not telling, through the setting and the various characters.

Our main character, Carney, is a complex and multi-faceted man, who knows he is not completely blameless of the situations he finds himself in. Still, we are totally rooting for this man and his family, and he is a fascinating person to follow, along with his collection of employees and more dangerous associates.

Although the middle of the three parts in this story felt a little slower than the first and third sections, overall this was a fabulous crime noir well worth reading.

Overall: 4 stars out of 5 stars

Book Review – How the Light Gets In – Louise Penny

Book Review – How the Light Gets In – Louise Penny

Book Details:

Title: How the Light Gets in

Author: Louise Penny

Genre: Mystery / Crime

Year of Release: 2013

Read 405-page paperback edition in January 2024.

Book Review:

In the ninth instalment of the Inspector Gamache series, we catch on events soon after the last novel, when Gamache’s right-hand, Beauvoir, has abandoned him for the questionable morals of the police superintendent. Beauvoir’s struggles with pain medication addiction have led him to this path, and Gamache is seeing his supporters leave him due to the constant battling he is having with the superintendent.

Then, when a unique person visiting Three Pines winds up missing, Gamache volunteers to take the case, at the behest of the townspeople there. He works to try and solve the mystery while still dealing with the swirling and dramatic politics of a conspiracy in the police agency.

Louise Penny has done a great job creating this intense story line with page-turning plot, but at the same time never losing sight of the character exploration that she is known for. Examinations of why characters are doing what they are doing, and how they relate to each other, are shown by Penny through the writing. It is this approach that creates such enjoyable stories.

Penny also does a great job writing the setting of winter and Christmas in Three Pines, and she creates an atmosphere that one can feel closely as they read along.

Overall, the fusion of suspense and character is perfect, and this is a wonderful book which also shows that Penny is not afraid to bring her characters into a new chapter as we move out of the ninth novel in the series.

Well done!

Overall: 5 stars out of 5 stars

Book Review – Holly – Stephen King

Book Review – Holly – Stephen King

Book Details:

Title: Holly

Author: Stephen King

Genre: Mystery

Year of Release: 2023

Read 449-page hardcover edition in October 2023

Book Review:

As Stephen King does, he has written another amazing page-turner. In his latest novel to have a mystery and crime focus with a touch of dark horror added in, we see recurring character Holly from the Mr. Mercedes trilogy returning. Holly now runs the private detective agency on her own, with the death of her friend Bill Hodges in a prior novel.

Holly is struggling during the isolation of COVID years, and with germs and bacteria everywhere. She is also very stressed without her friend Bill around. When she encounters a woman whose daughter has gone missing, she agrees to take the case when she feels there is something going on that the police are not seeing.

The novel follows Holly through her investigations, along with her friends Jerome and Barbara. We learn very quickly that there is some real troubling behaviour in the neighbourhood, and it centres on a pair of elderly professors who are not who they appear to be. King does an amazing job weaving together multiple plots and story lines, and eventually tying them all together into a deadly and gory centre.

King does an amazing job with propulsive plot, a page-turning story, and some laugh out loud moments in terms of how he gets into the heads of all his characters. However, he also does an amazing job realizing some unique and beautiful characters as well. Holly as the central character is painted so well, and as the audience we are drawn to her and care for her, through King’s skilled writing. Holly is a fascinating character, and as such this book is a fantastic one, where we are left looking forward to reading more about her in the future.

Well done!

Overall: 5 stars out of 5 stars

Book Review – The Apollo Murders – Chris Hadfield

Book Review – The Apollo Murders – Chris Hadfield

Book Details:

Title: The Apollo Murders

Author: Chris Hadfield

Genre: Mystery

Year of Release:2021

Read 471-page hardcover edition in September 2023

Book Review:

As NASA prepares to launch a lunar mission, Apollo 18, the public does not know that behind the scientific exploratory nature of the mission, there is also a militaristic mission as well. The Russians have built a station in orbit with weapons capabilities, and they have recently been to the lunar surface and found powerful minerals with radioactive properties. The NASA mission hopes to discover what is going on and intercede.

However, when murders begin happening before the mission even begins, it is up to the NASA crew and senior administration to ensure safety and security of the mission,and uncover what is happening.

In this mystery, alternate history, sci-fi novel, we see retired Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield take us on a knowledgable, suspenseful adventure. Hadfield knows his science and his history, and as such this novel feels very fresh and real. It is enjoyable reading a convincing novel, when we know the author has knowledge of what they are talking about. Further, Hadfield does a nice job of creating some fictional space and story within his framework of understanding.

The characters and settings on earth are believable and enjoyable to read about, and the mission in space and on the Moon makes for suspenseful scenes.

At times, the story does feel like it’s dragging a little bit, and it doesn’t always feel like a page turner. That being said, the book is enjoyable, and well worth a read.

Overall: 3.5 stars out of 5 stars

Book Review – Denial – Beverley McLachlin

Book Review – Denial – Beverley McLachlin

Book Details:

Title: Denial

Author: Beverley McLachlin

Genre: Mystery

Year of Release: 2021

Read 365-page paperback edition in June 2023.

Book Review:

Lawyer Jilly Truitt is back in this sequel, where she decides to defend a Senator’s wife who is claiming her innocence in the apparent mercy killing of her sick mother. Although Truitt has to deal with a difficult client and her powerful husband, she works to try and uncover what really happened in this case, working against the clock of a tight courtroom schedule.

Author Beverley McLachlin does another fantastic job in this sequel, writing courtroom drama and investigatory work with a lot of strength and knowledge. The story feels real and not exaggerated, which makes sense given McLachlin was the Chief Justice on the Supreme Court of Canada for many years. She has done a great job writing a main character who is intelligent, thoughtful, but also very human, realistic, and someone who you can believe in.

The story is fast-paced, creates a good mystery that takes time to work through, and has great twists and turns for Truitt and her team to discover. Overall, this is a great sequel that is well worth reading.

Overall: 4.5 stars out of 5 stars.

Book Review – Harlem Shuffle – Colson Whitehead

Book Review – Harlem Shuffle – Colson Whitehead

Facts:

Title: Harlem Shuffle

Author: Colson Whitehead

Genre: Crime Fiction

Year of Release: 2021

Read 321-page hardcover edition in August 2022

Book Description:

Ray Carney is trying to ensure he keeps to the straight and above-board path with his furniture business. His father was a career criminal in New York City, and he grew up with a cousin always getting in trouble, sometimes with him. Today though, he is trying to keep it honest and make something for himself, his wife, and his child.

However, when opportunities come up to make some quick extra dollars, it is difficult, sometimes near impossible, to say no. What follows is several heists, moving stolen merchandise, and revenge moves against the people around him.

At the same time, can he ensure his family, and himself, stay safe from the gangsters, police, and racist people around him in New York City of the 1960s?

Book Review:

This was a fantastic novel from Colson Whitehead. He has used his diverse talents to move into a period piece from the 1960s that centres on criminal enterprise and hotel heists. Whitehead is an expert at writing lyrical language that makes the reader feel like they are actually there. In this case, it feels like we are there in 1960s New York City. In addition to the language used by the characters which feels perfect, there is also the great description of setting which also brings the reader into the story.

The three parts of the novel, a few years apart in each section, is a great structure the author employs. We see our protagonist Ray Carney change slightly but clearly across the space of several years, and it is interesting to see his evolution into how much he is willing to do on the criminal enterprise side. This is a thoughtful inclusion in the novel. In addition, the racism and corruption of the police present in 1960s New York City is also built into the plot effectively.

The one downside of the novel was that there were some key supporting characters in the novel that we never got a good sense of, and it would have been nice for the author to spend a bit more time with them. For example, Carney’s family members. It would have been nice to have learned a little bit about them and see a little bit more interplay amongst them.

Otherwise, this is a fun and adventurous novel that further demonstrates Colson Whitehead’s skills as a novelist.

Overall: 4 stars out of 5 stars

Book Review – A Trick of the Light – Louise Penny

Book Review – A Trick of the Light – Louise Penny

Facts:

Title: A Trick of the Light

Author: Louise Penny

Series: Chief Inspector Gamache (Book 7)

Genre: Mystery / Crime

Year of Release: 2011

Read 339-page paperback edition in June 2022.

Book Description:

Clara Morrow is pleased to have found success with her unique paintings, having been asked to put on a solo shot at a popular gallery in Montreal. Her husband Peter can’t help but feel jealous, for his middling painting career has never seen this.

But at the after-party back in Three Pines, Clara’s victory is disrupted by the finding of a body in the Morrow garden. When they realize the body is that of a former artist and nasty art critic who had long left Quebec and their lives, there are many suspects in the art community who were at the party. It is up to Inspector Gamache and his team to decipher what happened, and who the killer is.

Book Review:

This is an excellent book in the Gamache series, and with us now in book seven of the series, acclaimed author Louise Penny has a lot of character development she can continue to focus on, while also looking to the actual case of murder at hand. There are relationships challenges with Peter and Clara, angry feelings from the last book between Olivier and Gamache, and ongoing tension between the officers coming off a shocking incident in the last book. Penny does a great job exploring these and continuing to expand her setting of the small town as well as its inhabitants.

The actual murder case in this book is interesting, and the explorations of the world of AA meetings and the art world make for unique storylines.

Overall, the action outside the murder is sometimes more interesting than the case itself, but this is a strong addition to the Gamache universe.

Overall: 4.5 stars out of 5 stars

Book Review – False Value – Ben Aaronovitch

Book Review – False Value – Ben Aaronovitch

Facts:

Book: False Value

Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Genre: Fantasy / Crime

Year of Release: 2020

Read 297-page hardcover edition in December 2021.

Book Description:

Peter Grant, a detective of the small police unit in London that deals with magic and mysterious incidents, is looking forward with some nervousness towards fatherhood. At the same time, he takes on a new job as private detective in a tech start-up company in London that has recently relocated from Silicon Valley. The mysterious company CEO is convinced someone is out to kill him and steal his life’s work, and Peter is working with a small group in the company to try and uncover any plots or security threats.

However, Peter quickly starts to realize this supposedly simple non-magic job has a lot more mystery and intrigue behind it than he expected, and the combination of magic and technology could prove very dangerous indeed.

Book Review:

Now at volume eight in the series, this is one of the best Peter Grant / Rivers of London novels that author Ben Aaronovitch has written. He has truly hit his stride, with an established main character in Peter Grant and numerous secondary characters that are interesting and enjoyable to read more about. Aaronovitch has done a great job creating this universe, and in this novel he has a perfect blend of action-oriented plot and character development on numerous fronts.

Aaronovitch does a great job advancing the characters and giving them new things to think about and work through. The development of Peter and Beverly’s impending twins create humour and thoughtful moments as well.

Aaronovitch does his usual great job of weaving humour and action together, as well as crime, mystery, and fantasy. This is a unique and enjoyable series, part fantasy and part police procedural. In addition, the structure of this particular novel is developed in a thoughtful way, allowing us a surprise near the beginning, and then a slow unfolding of what led us to this point in the first third of the novel.

Overall, this is a great addition to a fun and endearing series.

Well Done!

Overall: 5 stars out of 5 stars.

Book Review – The Brutal Telling – Louise Penny

Book Review – The Brutal Telling – Louise Penny

Facts:

Book: The Brutal Telling

Author: Louise Penny

Genre: Mystery

Year of Release: 2008

Read 506-page paperback edition in June 2021.

Book Description:

In this fifth volume of the mystery series set in Quebec, Chief Inspector Gamache returns to the small village of Three Pines, after a body has been found in Gabri and Olivier’s bistro. Nobody is sure who the old man is, who has been found murdered, which is strange in a place where everyone knows everyone.

Gamache begins his investigation, where a combination of familiar faces and newcomers to Three Pines are all suspects for one reason or another. Slowly, the clues pile up, and the brutal truth becomes clear.

Book Review:

This was a fantastic novel in the series by Canadian author Louise Penny. She has done an incredible job, as usual, with combining sequences of mystery and advancing those plot points, with more scenes allowing us to get to know the characters of Three Pines in more detail. The village and its citizens are further fleshed out, allowing us to get a great feeling of the setting, and really care about the people.

At the same time, this book feels like a standout in Penny’s series thus far. Not only has she done a great job developing the setting and characters further, but she has truly created a sense of foreboding and darkness with the mystery plot in this novel. She has boldly shown dark shades of grey on characters we have come to love, rather than take the easy way out and just keeping everyone we care about as “perfect.” This humanizes the characters and makes them more real. Penny’s ability to do this makes the writing stronger. The decisions around who to cast blame on show that Penny is willing to take risks with her creation, and those pay off in this novel.

Overall, this is a fantastic novel in the series, possibly the best one so far, and makes one want to read the next one, indeed.

Well Done!

Overall: 5 stars out of 5 stars

Book Review – The Outsider – Stephen King

Book Review – The Outsider – Stephen King

Facts:

Book: The Outsider

Author: Stephen King

Genre: Mystery / Thriller

Year of Release: 2018

Read 641-page paperback edition in April 2021.

Book Description:

In a small city in Oklahoma, a horrific child murder rocks a community. The residents are even more shocked when seemingly-friendly baseball coach Terry Maitland is arrested with ironclad evidence against him. Terry maintains his innocence, much to Detective Ralph Anderson’s annoyance.

But when something strange and sinister begins to appear in town, and when strange evidence comes to light that complicates the case against Terry, it is up to Detective Anderson to work through the situation and find out just what is going on, before other children are harmed.

Book Review:

As usual, Stephen King has written a propulsive thriller that is absolutely page-turning and exciting. The Outsider is a fantastic novel with several distinct parts, and all of them are enjoyable. We first see Terry’s arrest and the evidence against him. Then we start to learn what complicates the matter. And then we see a second investigation unfold with more characters involved, which culminates in an intense closing sequence.

King does a great job writing plot and suspense, which glues the reader to their seat. Although there are a couple scenes in the novel where some long exposition feels a little weighed down, for the most part this moves quickly.

The characters in the novel are well-written, and although some of them may feel like stock characters with stereotypes based on their profession, King does a nice job adding some dimension and personality to several of them.

A genius move is bringing back Holly from the Mr. Mercedes trilogy back into this story as a key character, for the latter half of the novel. Holly Gibney is a fascinating character, and the way she jumps into the plot here helps to rev up the second half of the story and give more energy. King does a nice job developing Holly’s character further and showing us some interesting interaction between her and Detective Anderson.

In summary, this book is a fantastic mystery and thriller, with some supernatural elements added in. The collection of characters against a truly evil nemesis makes for a fun novel.

Overall: 4.5 stars out of 5 stars