Archive for June, 2011

STAGESTRUCK by Peter Lovesey

STAGESTRUCK is the 11th novel in the Peter Diamond detective series. I’d read exactly zero in the series when I opened the book, but the fact that I arrived late on the scene, and that I’m a novice when it comes to the facts of Diamond’s life, did not act as a deterrent to my enjoyment. STAGESTRUCK is a police procedural set in the historic city of Bath, and for its setting and focus on the very real Theatre Royal, this is a novel that is certain to be enjoyed by anglophile mystery fans. Pervasive local flavour seeps through these pages as Diamond visits neighbourhood pubs, local landmarks and soaks up the legendary ghost stories are part of the history of the Theatre Royal. Local colour is so strong, in fact, that for mystery lovers, STAGESTRUCK is a tantalizing way for visitors to Bath to prime for tourism.

June 15, 2011 · Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: ,  · Posted in: Sleuths Series, United Kingdom, y Award Winning Author

THE ARTIFICIAL SILK GIRL by Irmgard Keun

There is nothing fake or “artificial” about the heroine of this surprising work of fiction. First published in 1932 in Germany, it was followed very quickly by its English translation in 1933. It was an immediate hit for a young author’s second novel; praised for its pointed sense of humour as well as the underlying critique of society. The story, written in the form of the central character’s musings and diary, blends a young woman’s daily struggles to make ends meet with, an at times sarcastic, yet always, witty commentary on daily life among the working classes during the dying days of the Weimar Republic.

June 14, 2011 · Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags:  · Posted in: Character Driven, Classic, Germany, Translated, World Lit

WHILE THE WOMEN ARE SLEEPING by Javier Marias

This collection of short stories is intriguing and memorable, firstly for its peculiar themes and obsessions, secondly (contrary to what one might expect) because the earlier pieces seem far “better” than the later.

June 13, 2011 · Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags:  · Posted in: Short Stories, Spain, Translated, World Lit, y Award Winning Author

ON STRANGER TIDES by Tim Powers

My review is of a paperback reprint of a Tim Powers novel, ON STRANGER TIDES, first published to a good deal of critical acclaim in 1987. No doubt the success of the new movie, “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” inspired the reprint.

June 12, 2011 · Judi Clark · Comments Closed
Tags: , , ,  · Posted in: Alternate History, Caribbean, Speculative (Beyond Reality), y Award Winning Author

THE DEVIL SHE KNOWS by Bill Loehfelm

Physically, 29 year-old Maureen Coughlin is a wisp of a woman, 5’ 4” tall and 100 pounds. Emotionally, she’s a powerhouse, a person with acumen, tenacity, and a wild streak just this side of the Serengeti. She works as a waitress, the same job for the last 10 years and she’s just sick of it. It’s a nowhere job and she’s going nowhere. She lives and works on Staten Island in a faux chic bar with the emphasis on ‘faux’. She’s started college and dropped out more than once but she knows that waitressing is not where she wants to find herself down the pike. She lives alone and has no one special in her life except her mother who gives her more trouble than solace.

June 11, 2011 · Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: , ,  · Posted in: New York City, Sleuths Series

THE RIDGE by Michael Koryta

Michael Koryta scores again with THE RIDGE, a thriller set in an isolated and rugged area of Eastern Kentucky. Inexplicable events are happening near a hilltop known as Blade Ridge. Sawyer County Deputy Sheriff Kevin Kimble and his colleagues get involved after an eccentric old drunk named Wyatt French is found dead in his lighthouse, an apparent suicide. No one understands why French spent time and money building a wooden lighthouse “in the middle of nowhere.” French had his reasons, but what he knew was so bizarre that no sane person would ever believe him.

June 10, 2011 · Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: , ,  · Posted in: Thriller/Spy/Caper, US South