Sadness and closure in book buying, Robotham, Hayder, Bristol and crime...

Talking to a friend last night, we were stuck to think of a book I wanted to buy alongside Michael Robotham's latest, Shatter, to get the free delivery with Amazon.  Tonight, I remembered that I wanted Matt Beynon Rees's latest, A Grave in Gaza (American title and edition); The Saladin Murders if purchasing the UK edition, which is paperback only.

So, there I was placing my order on Amazon and I knew I'd have to change the delivery address.  (I'd always had my parcels delivered to my parents' address.)  Tick, done.    The next thing I noticed was that the invoice address came up as my parents' address.  Tick, changed also.

You get on with life as best you can and then something comes up and bites you in the backside to remind you that life is changing and needs to continue to change; that there is no going back.  Memories and material things are all you have left when you've lost loved ones.

I hope that Amazon pack this duo well.  They did a miserable job with my previous order, which I returned for a refund.  I hope that Royal Mail will take the parcel back to the office, if I'm not in for the delivery.  I had one parcel left on my doorstep recently.  If it hadn't proved to be a temptation for theft, the parcel could have suffered rain damage.  Luckily, I was in at the time.

I have many novels to be read lying around this house.  Thanks to Faber, Bantam, Macmillan New Writing, Mira and some others, I have quite a few proof copies.  But there are still other novels and authors I will continue to seek out.  Robotham has impressed me with every one of his novels to date and he's a professor when it comes to pace.  It's really hard to do something else when you've started one of his novels.  Matt Rees's first novel will feature here in the near future.  The Bethlehem Murders is a superb read focused on the sense of justice.  It has one particular heart-rending moment that does not leave the memory.  The truth will out?  It ain't necessarily so.  Rees knows how to build tension.

Back to Robotham, Bristol seems to be the popular crime scene in crime fiction this year.  Robotham's novel Shatter has psychologist Joseph O'Loughlin called to the Clifton Suspension Bridge to try and stop a woman from leaping.  Mo Hayder's latest (Ritual) returns to the DI Jack Caffery series - with the promise of a new Walking Man series - and he moves from London to Bristol.  Hayder can pick some odd names for characters.  In Tokyo we had a character called "Grey" and in Ritual we have a character called "Flea".  On Tuesday, 18 March, Hayder will be at Waterstone's in Bristol at 7pm (the Broadmead branch).  They have a hand written poster of events in the window and they describe Ritual as "grisly".

Ritual is a novel dedicated to 'Adam'.  'Adam' don't forget, is the once young and innocent life whose torso was found in the Thames; 'Adam' thought to be a victim of a ritual killing.  It will be interesting to see what Hayder does with her Muti-related story in Ritual.  'Adam's' case was so sad and heart-breaking to those of us in this country.  The Metropolitan Police did all they could to seek justice for that young boy (estimated at between 4 and 7 years of age when he was killed).  It is easy to appreciate that officers of The Met were deeply affected by this case.

Hayder is not afraid to approach the potentially controversial in her fictional writing.  Will Ritual be a tale too close in time to the reality of 'Adam's' dreadful death?  But, she remembers 'Adam' in her dedication and that's a wonderful slice of humanity.  He had little of life and possibly little in life - we do not know how he fared in the latter.  This now departed mere tot - and yes, that's all he was - deserves to be enshrined in the memory of those who value life and seek justice.  He deserved better, much better.  He deserved the usual fate of a young child: cuddles; love; nurturing; play; development; education; the prospect of a long and fulfilling life.  He did nothing to deserve murder for whatever irrational reason.

Hayder has me quaking already when it comes to the fiction side of things.  Unlike any other crime fiction author, I'd say her imagination holds no bounds.  I know that Tokyo was lauded in many circles, but I had a problem with that novel.  The main issue for me was the subject matter.

But for me, nothing Hayder has done has been without a sense of risk and jeopardy.  The early Cafferys were "tell it like it is" - no holds barred police procedurals - Tokyo shook the roots of Japan's history and Pig Island was an excursion into the unusual and odd.  You may feel you know the writing, but Hayder surprises every time.

Back to Bristol: don't forget Crimefest 2008.  It's all happening there.  The list of participants is growing in 2008 and it's good to see.

Comments

[cfr]

Maxine, I had other problems with Tokyo. For me, using that piece of history felt wrong. It felt too soon. I did not find Grey a convincing character either. However, it was a wonderful piece of writing and a page turner. Odd I know, but I am yet to read Lee Child...

Norm, thanks for your kind comment.

Both, I never sleep well on a Sunday night. Thus, during the night I finished one novel and as of returning from commuter land this evening, I am about a quarter in with Ritual. I will say nothing yet...

[Norm]

The problem with reading your blog cfr is that you make all these books seem so tempting.
How can I resist books set in Exeter and Bristol? And I must start on the Matt Rees series.
However a mountainous tbr pile might keep me in check.;o)

[Maxine]

I'm looking forward to Mo Hayder's novel. I thought the first three were very good. I thought Tokyo excellent for the first three-quarters -- and the escort girl aspects were based on the author's own experience and the Lucie Blackman case I recall. I found the Chinese history/baby parts of the plot harrowing but not objectionably so -- a brave attempt to write about a terribly difficult subject, I thought.
I also liked Hayder's first two novels -- that final caravan scene has stayed with me!-- and am glad she has returned. I thought her last book, Pig Island, pretty dreadful so I for one am very glad she's returning to those strong characters and ambience. I like your comments about Adam.

I read a couple of Robothams but they aren't really my scene, in common with a couple of thrillers I've read in the past week or so by other authors. I think that in the main, thrillers aren't my thing (unless they are by Lee Child?) compared with a good detective/police-procedural plot.

Amazon packing -- they have been quite good to me recently, but I know what you mean! I rent my DVDs from them but anything over a year or two old is unplayable/scratched. I see they have sold their DVD rent business to LoveFilm so I suspect that will be the end of my DVD renting! (As the movies I rent tend to be for my daughters, and I use the discount you can apply to new DVD purchases to buy old TV box sets that I might watch one day if I ever have the time).

[crimefic]

Oh yes, Kerrie, I have read all in Robotham's fictional oeuvre. He opened with Jo O'L at the Brompton Hospital and I've never looked back - always eager for the next novel. A stunning series.

[Kerrie Smith]

Have you read Michael Robotham's previous titles?
Well worth trying to read them in order so you can appreciate where the latest title fits in his writing "scheme"