This time it's the Christmas pick of Steve Mosby, author of The 50/50 Killer, which is out now as a hardback and in paperback on 1 December 2007; and originally one of the Orion New Blood pack in 2004:
"The crime novel that impressed me most in 2007 is, without doubt, Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects. The plot concerns Chicago journalist Camille Preaker’s return to her small, Missouri hometown to cover the recent abduction of two young girls there. In doing so, she has to reconnect – reluctantly – with her overbearing mother, creepy step-sister and small-town past. But the reason for reading the book is not the mystery, as the solution to the crime provides only the bones of the tale; the heart lies in the characters and the wonderful first-person prose. Camille is a unique and engaging creation: a cynical, self-harming car-crash of a woman, whose vulnerability is obvious even as she pushes people away with her callous and barbed commentary on the town. And Flynn’s prose is gorgeous. She isn’t afraid to move the story slowly, building an almost unbearable atmosphere of dread, and ultimately delivers a searing portrayal of female violence, a touching and fascinating character study, and a crime story that provides a rare chill. It’s a superb novel, and no fan of the genre – or, indeed, of great writing in general – should allow it to pass them by."
I like the way the style of the authors come over in these posts, CFR - another point of information!
Posted by: Clare D | 19 November 2007 at 23:00