IT'S A CRIME! (OR A MYSTERY...)

The Hidden Assassins - Robert Wilson

This is the third novel in Wilson's Falcón quartet, following "The Blind Man of Seville" and "The Silent and The Damned".

In "The Hidden Assassins" Wilson is really pushing some boundaries with a plot based around the bombing of an apartment block in Seville; a block known to have a mosque in its basement.  Thus we have a story that explores the cultural tensions that we have in the world - tensions we have seen increase over the last few weeks in the UK particularly, following another security alert.

If fiction can help to improve our understanding, then this novel does it.

Written from the points of view of the many who are party to the tension, "The Hidden Assassins" provides an informative insight into the world today, whilst entertaining through great writing and excellent plotting.

In a nutshell: we meet Falcón just as he has taken on the case of a man found brutally murdered, whose body has been mutilated for the sole purpose of preventing identification.  During a visit to the morgue, Falcón hears a noise and is in no doubt as to its origins.  He rushes to the scene and finds the devastation he feared - an explosion has brought down a tower block and impacted on a pre-school behind it.  Memories of the Madrid bombings still fresh in everyone's minds, all the emergency services immediately begin the necessary painstaking work at the site.  Falcón leads the police investigation, working alongside other agencies whose viewpoints relate to "intelligence" rather than evidential fact.  So begins the most far reaching and challenging case in Falcón's career...

Whilst the novel is long at some 450 pages, Wilson's writing is lean and every word counts.  What, at first glance, may be interpreted as a "throw away" comment is there for a purpose.  Take one sentence in the description of Falcón's ex-wife Inés, for example: "Her stick-thin forearms seemed to have grown more hair and they made her feel curiously weak."  The reference to hair growth says so much about how Inés feels about herself, her physical and mental state.

Wilson's writing is also very subtle and understated.  This is put to full effect in the description of the explosion itself, as seen through the eyes of the mother in one ordinary hard working family to whom we have just been introduced in the narrative.  Every moment of sheer horror is described, every physical aspect as seen, in what can only account for a second or so, in total.  There is no emotion in the narrative - it is the reporting of fact.  The emotion is all in the reader.

In Seville, the bombing increases the tensions in the lives of all, and for the main characters of this novel, their stories interweave effectively.  This includes a particularly disturbing case of domestic violence, written again, in that understated way that sees the emotion resting with the reader.  Further afield, Falcón is persuaded to seek assistance from a friend for the purposes of the investigation; something that sees him wrestling with a great conflict of interest and fear for his friend's future.  (And something that brings home to the reader, this one at least, just how much risk some take on behalf of others...)

Told with constant reference to timescales, there is no respite in the reading of this investigation - it's a page turner to the bitter end.

By far, this is the best novel I have read this year and it is also so very topical, a "must read" in today's climate.

(So good in fact that I've nominated it for Susan Hill's "The Book Bloggers' Book Prize".

Considered by one newspaper reviewer of punctuating his main plot with "disconnected soapy storylines", I beg to differ.  The only sub-plot I considered to be verging on the superfluous was that of Falcón and his love interest.  He wants to re-establish his relationship with Consuelo, but we learn, through the odd chapter of her own crisis and why she chooses to remain distant from him.  That, in itself is original, albeit not pertinent to the plot in hand.  Had they managed to get together early in the novel, I doubt that anyone would bat an eyelid.  However, it does set up one scene for the fourth and final novel in this quartet.

HarperCollins has a splendid interview with Robert Wilson about the background to this novel, which can be read here.

Wilson is currently on tour in Australia, which has led to another interesting interview in The Australian, which can be read here.

If new to this series, "The Hidden Assassins" can easily be read as a stand alone, but I'd recommend reading the series, starting with the first novel "The Blind Man of Seville".

Laurie R. King - The Art of Detection

The Art of Detection, the fifth in the Kate Martinelli series is available to order in the UK from Amazon right now.

It's a novel that not so much crosses boundaries as merges two unique series from Laurie R. King.  Where the Martinelli series is contemporary, the Mary Russell series is historical crime fiction, inspired by Sherlock Holmes.

So how do these series converge?

Martinelli, in The Art of Detection is faced with a case that involves San Francisco Sherlockians...

In a nutshell: the body of Philip Gilbert, a true Holmes fanatic, is discovered in an historic place within a San Francisco park.  Gilbert's enthusiasm for Holmes has made him a leading expert  with a collection of almost priceless Holmes memorabilia.  Sherlock Holmes is both his trade and his life.  Gilbert's home is a relic of the past over two floors, with only one floor allowing him some modern day creature comforts.    But why was he killed and by whom?  His consort of Sherlockian admirers makes the list of suspects.  And then, a short manuscript, apparently written by Holmes himself, in the possession of the victim comes to light.  Something so unique and potentially priceless is surely a motive for murder?

You may know already from reading previous posts that I have been reading the Martinelli series in sequence.  As a result, I have grown to love the characters, the contemporary setting and plots.  Having a victim who is a Holmes enthusiast is not a problem for me.

But having the manuscript within the plot as feature of this novel, about half way through, was a problem for me.  However, there are two sides to every coin.  For King aficionados who read and love the Russell series as well, this will be a thriller.  For those like me, who have concentrated on Martinelli, I am pleased to report that you lose very little in skimming or completely omitting that manuscript - the rest of the novel tells you enough to move the plot along quite nicely.

For a pure Martinelli reader, the manuscript is a bit of a curve ball, and personally, I did not welcome what I felt to be its intrusion on proceedings.  But, and this is indeed a big "but", the whole purpose of the novel was to marry these two series, with the previous in the Russell series "Locked Rooms" being a key link.

But the best thing here is: don't feel obliged to read that "manuscript" story in the middle of The Art of Detection in full, or in detail, or even at all.  For the purposes of "stand alone", "The Art of Detection" can indeed stand on its own two feet.   For the purposes of a number five in a series, "The Art of Detection" is still good.

One thing King can be relied upon is a set of characters that hold true and move realistically with time.  Martinelli is now a mother, along with her partner Lee, and their child Nora is both an apple in their eyes as well as a wonderful reflection on their own personalities.

The plot in "The Art of Detection" simmers at a very low heat until the final boil of resolution.

King's "The Art of Detection" remains a very good novel, even if I didn't like the "intrusion" of said Sherlockian manuscript.

A final note: Laurie R. King's planned UK tour will not happen this year.  She has cancelled due to family circumstances - where her husband has been taken serously ill.  I wish all the very best to LRK and her family at this time, and a speedy recovery to her husband.

J K Rowling on holiday

One last thought before I depart for pastures valleys...

I've been a bit of a part time reader of the Mail, especially The Mail on Sunday for some years.  More lately, it seems to me, the MoS has become obsessed with the spending of money and "celebrity".  I am on the point of cancelling my Sunday delivery and have been for months, but they still manage to layer the ever-increasing articles that I hate with some oddly interesting stuff.

But yesterday in the Mail, we had this about J. K. Rowling and her £77 per minute of income and how she chooses to spend it.  Wisely, I'd say, and thank you to the Mail for letting me know she's a woman with her feet firmly on the ground.  Her children are in state schools and her hubbie still works as a GP.   She chose to give birth within the confines of the NHS.   She's tight when it comes to spending money on designer clothing, apparently.  But who cares?  Comparisons to Victoria Beckham are simply off the wall.  (They made them, not I.)  Who needs designer clothing to make some sort of a statement?  When people start to honestly answer this, they'll get a much better idea of their psyches and values and what is, at its basic level, an empty sphere of aspiration and little else.

I'd guess that JKR paid whatever it took to holiday in The Hamptons to ensure some privacy.  But oh, the paparazzi are paid so well on a piece meal basis for an intrusion into a private holiday.  And just because this is the world's bestselling author on holiday.

In a climate of "celebrity culture" that defies all logic, but appeals to the dreams of so many and depletes their banks accounts to ruin in some cases, unless they wake up and smell the grass, authors remain reluctant to move from "author" to " celebrity".  It's the media that makes the push.

As to what is a "celebrity", courtesy of the media today, I'll leave you with my definition:

"someone, more usually female, who drips wealth, earned or not, more usually not, as evidenced by designer gear about the bode and gold bits dripping from it, who has nothing else of note, let alone worth, to contribute to society."   I could add "a.k.a. empty head", but I'll restrain myself.   Celebrity is a concoction of the media with nothing else worthwhile to do.

Enjoy your holiday J.K. , while you can and away from the prying eyes.  The prying eyes have an elevated sense of self - they think and manufacture an interest in your private life, while we sit and just admire or enjoy.   Most of us meet this culture head on and try to ignore it.  Some succumb and are drawn in and do the banks a favour before themselves.

It's good to know your family is grounded.  If someone wants the latest designer little toe nail, we know it's not your fault.  You're the author and creator of the Harry Potter series.   That's where it ends for the majority of readers or admirers.  J.K.R. is Harry Potter or the next in her imagination and not her latest swimsuit or boogie board choice.  Who cares how she spends her income?  It's only because the media tells us something, and in a certain way that we start to wonder and judge.

Authors are authors.  They capture their imaginations into words and then into print and they let us enjoy that moment with them, if it is to our taste.

What is a celebrity?

Short of someone in the public eye for almost nothing of note, I'm speechless.  If you have another suggestion, please comment.  If you can tell me and make me understand why I find the word "bland" such an omission, especially in the media, right now, I promise to repay you.

But I also promise that my ideals may not meet yours, and thus a meeting of minds is key; with anything less, a waste of my time and yours.  Bland is bland and is worthless.  Loads of sparkly bits, dazzling diamonds, hemlines cut to “just that point” and shades of the latest season don’t make real life.

Real life is real life.  Meeting your own budget is real life.  Aspiring to J.K.R’s success and sending power is just that – aspiring and dreaming.  So halt the dream and stay with reality and within your budget, it’s the feel of the waves that you both enjoy and that is what's priceless.

Laurie R. King and Robert Wilson

As originally noted, I'll be posting about Laurie R. King's latest Martinelli novel this weekend - later this UK bank holiday weekend...

Also coming up is Robert Wilson's latest "The Hidden Assassins", which I'm sure I'll finish before the weekend is out!  (I'd have finished it in bed this morning, but work took precedence over the final pages, damn...)

Bank holidays make for longer weekends and more time for family and friends, so that's where I'll be from tomorrow - with my family.

And if I do receive any more gems from my soon to be eighty year old father about the latest crime fiction, I'll be sure to post them too.  The last time I visited, I dropped off a batch of emerging UK crime writer novels, that clutch I just had to buy when at the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival.  So it will be interesting to see if (1) he's made any headway with the "newbies" and (2) what he thinks.  I suspect that they may prove to be a little too contemporary for him, but I'll keep my fingers crossed.

As for what to pick up when I've put down "The Hidden Assassins", I'm still deliberating.  Wilson's novel is a hard act to follow.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

August's weather has been so autumnal, I fear that the UK's usual September Indian summer has been to the outer reaches of the galaxy this year.  I hope this bank holiday weekend's weather treats you well!

Abergavenny next weekend - John Connolly and the Food Festival

Author John Connolly will be at Ottakar's in Abergavenny on Friday 15 September at 6pm signing his latest "The Book of Lost Things".  Ottakar's site says:

"John Connolly is the talented author of a series of crime thrillers starring his protagonist Charlie Parker.  Hard edged and gritty, with great pace and terrific twists, John also has touched upon the horror genre with some of his works, producing the fabulous short story collection Nocturnes.  His new novel once again looks like a change in direction for this diverse writer.

Having heard John Connolly speak before, I can testify to the fact that he is a wonderfully witty and engaging character.  So come along and take your chance to meet and greet this talented author...

Contact: Please contact Peter or Angela at the store on 01873 859886 for further details. "

The Abergavenny Food Festival is in full swing from Saturday morning (16 September) until late Sunday afternoon.  But if get to Abergavenny early enough on the Friday, you can visit the Market Hall (a few paces away from Ottakar's) for the "Food Festival Taster Market & Abergavenny Traders", 9.00am – 4.00pm and FREE.

The full programme is listed here.

A small point to clarify about footwear and pasties...

Now I know that dear Minx was having a joke when she said in the book meme post: "Very rude about the 'pasties' btw - being a Cornish type meself!"

But I was not being rude about Cornish pasties at all.  More likely I was adding to the rudeness that welcomed Clarkes's Nature Trek shoes when they appeared on the scene all those years ago.  (The mid to late 1970s, I believe.)

They did look comfy.  People walked in them as if they were very comfy; they glided across all sorts of underfoot terrain.  But if you looked down at your own feet, or their feet, you saw PASTIES!

I'm a dedicated Birkenstock wearer, so comfort rules the day for me now.  (It has for the last decade and a bit!)

When Mr Physics Teacher squished into class in a pair of "Polyveldts/Nature Treks", I was but a teenager and image conscious.  As a result, I went out (outside the school environment) in a pair of "winkle picker" type shoes from Lotus, when not adorning the wedges.  They also had very shiny soles.

When it starts to snow, this is not a good idea.  When it starts to snow when you're partying, you don't notice until you start the walk home.  I can confidently say that walking home in that type of shoe is possible, up to a point.  I grew up in the Welsh valleys.  It's hilly there.  At some point, you have to make a decision...  So, yes, I took off the shoes and walked barefoot in the snow to get home.  The feel of the newly crisp and crunchy snow underfoot is lovely, by the way.

But today, I'd even wear a pair of Clarkes's pasties, if I thought they would get me home.

That's age - a decade x 2, or so - for you!  If I can't even walk out of the bedroom in comfort, I'm going nowhere in that footwear!

The next two in the Martinelli series from Laurie R. King

Before I embark on the novels, let it be known that these are not being published by Poisoned Pen Press in the UK this year.  As I understand it, PPP will be publishing the backlist for this series and the "Mary Russell" series, at the rate of one or two books a year, over the coming years.  Thus, you'll have a bit of a wait on your hands.  But if too impatient, there's always second hand or buying from the US via Amazon...

With Child

In a nutshell: Martinelli is on her own, her lover has departed for some time and space, and to get to know the aunt she didn't know she had.  Martinelli's partner Al Hawkin has his wedding coming up and Jules, his soon to be step-daughter calls on Martinelli for assistance with finding a missing homeless person she befriended in the park.  This adds to Martinelli's case load and then she is asked if Jules can spend time with her, while the couple enjoy their honeymoon.  Jules and Martinelli set out on a journey, making a stop over at a hotel en route.  But in the morning, Jules is not in her room and there's a serial killer out there, with Jules fitting the victim profile...

This novel is very different to many I have read.  It does not start with a fast pace response to a crime, but with an exploration into the life of Martinelli and her relationships with those around her, focusing on that with her lover, and secondly, her developing friendship with and mentoring of her partner's step-child, Jules.

Jules is the precocious child introduced so lovingly (and so well drawn) in A Grave Talent.  She is a very bright child and now she has reached the age of teenage angst.   But is it just the angst that lies behind her behaviour, or something else?

Whilst it is possible to predict the plot outcome at a later stage in the novel, the story is not spoiled.  It's an engaging insight into teenage years, changing relationships, and the lives of children who find or put themselves on the street, as a result of trauma.

This is a novel with class and it stands the test of time when it comes to plot.

Night Work

  In a nutshell: men are dying, first stunned, then strangled, and they all have a past - one of a proven track record of abuse to women.  The LOPD, Ladies of Perpetual Disgruntlement, may be responsible.  It is this case that Martinelli and Hawkin have to crack.  Then comes the case of a "burnt bride" which Martinelli is encouraged to review by a friend.  Martinelli finds that with both cases, the suspects may be rather close to home and the motivations of friends may not be all they seem at face value...

It is within the last few years in the UK that the cases of "honour killings" have been brought to the public's attention in the media.  First published in 2000, Night Work was clearly ahead of its time in highlighting this issue within fiction.  It's a sensitive subject, handled well here, and it's perhaps due to its sensitivity and the current state of the world that we have not seen more of it in other novels.  If there is one marker for this novel, it's the fact that King handles a sensitive subject extremely well and with due respect to all interested parties.

Also, this novel looks at "feminism" and what it can twist into, in extreme forms.  Women may be feminists together, but all have their own back story and motivations.

More than anything, as a UK reader, I found this novel educational.  Mystery and suspense linger and build until the end.  I had no idea who was responsible for one crime and I was wrong footed on the other.  A really great read.

I'll be back in a week or so with The Art of Detection, the fifth in the series and one of the two novels that PPP publishes in the UK at the end of August.  (The other being the first in the series, A Grave Talent.)

That book meme...

Thanks to Maxine at Petrona I have been well and truly tagged.   So here are my answers:

1. One book that changed your life?

Patricia Cornwell's Post Mortem.  I've got to hand it to her - I'd never have started reading crime fiction with enthusiastic addiction if it wasn't for that novel.  In its time and place, it was extraordinary.  I hope to find the time to read it again one day. 

2. One book you have read more than once?

John Lawton's Black Out.  I loved that novel; loved the setting; loved the eclectic range of characters and loved the protagonist Troy.  I loved it all so much that I've bought copies for friends in the past - distant and near.  And just to check why I loved it so much before passing it on yet again, I've read it again, and more than once.

3. One book you would want on a desert island?

Assuming I'd be staying for an unknown duration, I'd want something to last.  That, for me, is something involving some spying and counter-spying, where I may not have picked up on all the clues on a first reading.  In the running would be John Lawton's Black Out, Robert Wilson's The Company of Strangers, Paul Eddy's Mandrake / Flint's Law (which had me lost - big time!).

4. One book that made you cry?

Quite a few, but the most recent that comes to mind was Margaret Murphy's The Dispossessed.  There was one scene of heart clenching and gut wrenching tragedy and I didn't see it coming, hence its affect on me.  I could only think "Oh no, please no."  It embodied the reality of the impact of violence itself and the impact on those who are left to deal with its consequences.

5. One book that made you laugh?

Paul Burke's Father Frank.  The synopsis from Amazon is as follows: "This is a story about a Roman Catholic priest who runs his North London parish whilst harbouring an almighty secret: he doesn't believe in God. This doesn't stop him from being hugely successful, if a little unconventional in his work. He raises money by driving a London taxi and everything is going well until Sarah hops into his cab and into his life."

It reminded me of my teens.  Somewhere in there is a reference to Clarkes's Nature Trek shoes and they are called "pasties".  That's what I called them too when I saw them on the feet of our physics teacher.

The story's pretty original and it jostles along just like the taxi.  And it made me laugh, out loud, and many times.

6. One book you wish had been written?

I'm still waiting for a serious crime novel from Peter Guttridge.  I think he has it in him and I think it would be great!

7. One book you wish had never been written?

Absolutely nothing.  We all have different tastes, so something I like or love is another's anathema, and vice versa.  Why should I try to censor others' tastes?

One book I wish I'd never bought, and in hardback at that, is James Sturtz's Sasso.  By God, it looked good from the synopsis, but I gave up on page thirty something. 

8. One book you are currently reading?

Laurie R. King's The Art of Detection.  I'm coming to about a third of the way in.  Even though there has been a gap in the series, this is taken into account real time and the series characters have moved on.  There are new characters, but these were to be expected as the previous novel(s) had set up the changes.  The beauty of the writing is that we are re-introduced to old friends (established characters) with an easy introduction to new family members, as if we'd known them for as long as the old characters.  And King is so good on characterisation.  More on that book on here at a later date...

9. One book you have been meaning to read?

Absolutely loads.  But one I feel most guilty about is Denise Mina's The Field of Blood.  It's the start of an acclaimed series and the second has just hit the market and I own both.  Mina has produced these novels at the same time as starting a family, having two sons in quick succession.  That puts me to shame...

10.  Now tag five people...

Debi Alper, as a welcome home from hols pressie; John Baker (ditto); Roger Morris (to see if he can find a way to get another "plug" in - I'm confident he would...); May, who has left some welcome comments on here and I'd like to get to know her better; and finally, newish blogger Andrew Taylor, because he always has something to say and is so well read that he can introduce anyone to something new!

UK Libraries - do you value them?

If you haven't read it before, or picked up on the link on the side bar, please start reading it now.

It's Tim Coates's campaign to improve British libraries and save them from extinction.

This week has seen the release of a report (from PriceWaterhouseCoopers) by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) suggesting a blueprint for better book buying to boost libraries.  There's plenty of comment on Tim's site about the report and reaction to it.

Tim is running a very serious campaign, but his words are often imbued with humour to lighten the load.  So don't let the references to various character biscuits and cakes put you off.   Do let them put a smile on your face as you read about another crisis in the public sector that is hidden, as much as possible, from the tax paying public.

If you value libraries, you'll want to read this site and help in the campaign.

Susan Hill's "The Book Bloggers' Book Prize" or "The Socker Prize" perhaps

Susan Hill is the author of the crime fiction series based on protagonist DCI Simon Serrailler, author of many other literary novels, famous for "The Woman in Black" and is also a publisher with her press "Long Barn".

Susan has also recently had a marvellous idea - The Book Bloggers Book Prize.

This is not a prize for bloggers or books that derive from blogs.  (Neither is it specifically for crime fiction.)  It is a prize for a book, determined through a process where "... Entries will be suggested only by anyone who either book-blogs or visits and comments, but the shortlists and winner will be selected by those who have Book Blog sites, though anyone may comment and give their opinion of any books and these will most certainly be taken into account. We want nothing cliquey or smoke-filled-room about this..."

Susan's idea was inspired by the fact that she'd noted that many "books-and-reading" bloggers blogged as a result of dissatisfaction with reviews read in the media.  Acknowledging the "notable exceptions", she says that most do not seem to reflect the views of the "ordinary" reader and book buyer.

And that same comment, expressed in other words, came up at Harrogate this year, in the panel entitled "What's wrong with popular fiction?"  Robert Goddard remarked that the book review sections' pages appeared to devote more space to those books that are not anticipated to sell well.  He's right.  If you look at the weekly top ten in hard or paper back fiction, there's a consistent 60-70% in there that is crime and thriller fiction.  But when it comes to review space, the opposite applies.  For most newspapers, crime and thriller fiction is a "feature" every once in a while.

So a prize that is essentially reader voted has got to be good hasn't it?

Dovegreyreader (Lynne) recently commented on the Chark Blog that "Most of us are ignoring the review pages, the 3 for 2's and increasingly the prizelists.  Plenty of us have been quietly exchanging great reads through international online reading groups for years and there's a potential audience that no one seems to have taken any notice of, do publishers even know they exist? Have you typed 'reading group' into Yahoo groups lately?  Word of a good read spreads around these like a bush fire and likewise we telegraph the turkeys well in advance!"

That is so true.

This blog evolved from participation on author forums and email discussions about books.  When I had the chance to go to last year's Harrogate Crime Writing Festival, I also wanted to post something somewhere, to share the experience.  Hence the blog.  I've added details of other events I've attended and I've also shared my thoughts on books I've read.  As for turkeys, yes I've come across a few.  But I prefer my turkeys at Christmas, and on a plate, and not on here.

A book voted for by readers has to be a good thing in my mind.

Interestingly, you could say that about the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award before this year.  But when the announcement of the winner was made in July, there was a passing reference to a change in determination for 2006.  The final decision had taken reader votes into account, but that was one part of a wider decision...  Not sure what they meant exactly, but it would be good to know.

But back to the "Book Bloggers' Book Prize" - it seems that inspiration was fast in coming.  Susan Hill and Lynne Hatwell of the dovegreyreader blog had a conversation on Susan Hill's blog.  Susan suggested that Lynne knit a pair of socks as the prize for the dummy run in 2006.  Then Em suggested that it's called the "Socker Prize"...

As Susan is up for "...a really fun award ceremony.. no black ties or dinners at round tables... a nice knees-up somewhere...", my money's on "The Socker" becoming a notable prize in the future.

Congratulations to Susan for the inspirational thought!

The rules can be found here and here.  But it's all still in development...