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!

Comments

[crimeficreader]

And thanks for honouring the deed Ms Alper! It was great to read it!

[Debi]

Hello, honey. Thanks for the pressy. I found this by wandering through to see what I missed over the last millenium-length month. How come the tag didn't reach me directly?
Note to self: must come back to this ...

[crimeficreader]

Thanks, John. Your thoughts are appreciated.

[John Baker]

OMG. I've been tagged. OK, I'll have a go. I've not done one of these before. Help, it means thinking. I'll have to think . . .

[May]

Dear Caroline/CFR,
I've done my part. If it is not good enough, I will improve it.
xo
May

[roger]

Ah yikes, I've only just spotted this. Been away. To Norfolk, so this is a welcome home present for me too. I shall try, I shall try, but I am behind on my current w.i.p.. Thanks though.... I think!

[crimeficreader]

I hope you find something you like May!

[May]

Dear CFR,
first of all I'd like to thank you very much for time you took to write this reply. I think that I could start with one of two authors that you mention first. I have always had a marked preference for female writers and, if the protagonist of their novels is a female, that's even better. I'd also like to avoid the "grand-guignol" type of situation. I guess that I'll go to a bookstore and decide.
Thank you!

[crimeficreader]

Kathy Reichs came onto the scene later with her protag, who is a forensic anthropologist (body structure), as opposed to forensic pathologist (body and disease). This series is now well established and renowned with many saying she's exceeded Cornwell. I beg to differ here. Reichs's novels are not as good as Cornwell's first three. Mid series for Cornwell vs earlies for Reichs are head to head in my mind. Later Cornwell/Scarpetta novels vs Reichs's novels have me sympathising with the marketing spiel. However, one caveat, I've not read the last two Reichs novels, so in the world of "up to date", I'm lagging behind.

US author Karin Slaughter is often mentioned when Cornwell and/or forensics come up. Her latest is a stand alone, but before that, her series novels concentrated on an estranged couple - he a cop, she a local doc who also doubles up as the local medical examiner. One thing about Slaughter, for sure - she is not afraid to be real, direct and shock. She will go to places that others would not dare. I don't think of her novels as forensically based. The ones I've read were simply damn good stories, with great characters and interesting relationships.

Following my own Cornwell/Scarpetta intro into the world of crime fiction, my tastes developed as follows (based in North America at the time):

Ridley Pearson's "Lou Boldt" series - a Seattle setting, great characters and police procedurals to die for IMHO. I'm so angry he lost his UK publisher. The next "Boldt" was always an imperative buy for me. (I say "was" as he's taken a recent diversion into children's novels...)

John Sandford's "Prey" series around cop Lucas Davenport. Early books I found heavy on detailed description of awful crimes tempered by a charismatic and very appealing character in Davenport. Later novels are less of the detail (or was I becoming accustomed?), and in the most recent dear old Dav has settled down...

If I think of anyone else, I'll let you know, May!

[May]

I don't read much crime fiction but I loved "Postmortem", much more than the other books by P.C. Today I was in a bookstore and wanted to buy something similar to it - not too complicated, not Danbrownish. I thought of you but couldn't remember any title.
Any advice?

[Minx]

Ooh look, you have changed your window display, whilst I have been absent. Very nice but a bit of black wouldn't go amiss!

Very rude about the 'pasties' btw - being a Cornish type meself!

[May]

OK