Kategorie: Thriller & Crime

The Angels of Venice – Philip Gwynne Jones

Kommentar hinterlassen
Author Philip Gwynne Jones
PublisherConstable London
Date7 February 2023
EditionPaperback
Pages416
LanguageEnglish
ISBN-13978-1472134318

“Who sets out to rob a bookshop on the worst night in half a century? For that matter, who sets out to rob a bookshop at all?” (Quotation page 153)

Content

In November 2019, Venice, the beautiful, magical city, almost used to “Aqua Alta”, is affected by the worst flooding catastrophe since fifty years. On their way home, after helping Ed in his flooded bar, Nathan Sutherland and Ed notice that the window of an old antique bookshop is totally shattered. Inside they find the body of a dead woman, Dr Jennifer Whiteread, art historian. As she is a British citizen, Nathan Sutherland, British honorary consul in Venice, is officially involved and as she has been murdered, he begins to investigate.

Theme and Genre

The new thriller of the Nathan Sutherland-Series, set heavily flooded Venice, is about human angels staying together and helping people wherever possible to save La Serenissima, and about painted angels attracting just the contrary.

Characters

This time, Nathan Sutherland has more reasons to try to find out what has happened to Jennifer Whiteread and why, because the police is almost overwhelmed by the situation of the flooded city and on the other hand, the grieving father of Jennifer has come to Venice and asks for answers.

Plot and Writing

The story takes place in November 2019 when Venice was seriously flooded and in a state of emergency. Besides the gripping, interesting story about angels in art, the author also vividly describes the hours and days between more rain, storms and hope. While a group of young people, calling themselves the mud angels, help wherever needed, rich Giles Markham of Markham Charity Foundation, offers noticeable sums to help to preserve the ancient buildings. There is a second storyline, a story within the story, in form of an internal monologue that gives us more and more hints, but never too much. Therefore, the story is gripping and unexpected twists keep the plot unforeseeable.

Conclusion

Atmospheric, interesting and amazing, in my opinion one of the best books of the series.

Reviews, Thriller & Crime , ,

The Venetian Masquerade – Philip Gwynne Jones

Kommentar hinterlassen
AuthorPhilip Gwynne Jones
PublisherConstable
Date4 April 2019
EditionKindle
Pages278 (print)
LanguageEnglish
ASINB07J547T16

“This may be so, but surely the important thing – the most important thing – is where is the manuscript now?” (Quotation page 104)

Content

It is Nathan´s birthday, and it is Carnevale in Venice too with lots of masked people everywhere, but still magical. Tonight Monteverdi´s  L’Incoronazione di Poppea is waiting at Opera Fenice, but Isotta Baldan, the famous opera soprano Nathan Sutherland was looking forward to finally see on stage has been cancelled again. The singer now playing Poppea is excellent, but she is no Isotta Baldan. So Nathan´s attention wanders, watching two late arrivals, coming into the opposite box. At the end of the opera applause – and a sudden scream. At the opposite box, a person now is flumped forward over the balustrade, stabbed, and in this wallet, the police finds Nathan´s business card. The events somehow seem to be connected to an original manuscript of Monteverdi´s opera Proserpina rapita, lost a long time ago. Nathan is sent on a special quest.

Theme and Genre

This thriller, part of a series, takes place in Venice during the famous Carnevale and the story centers around one of Monteverdi´s lost operas.

Characters

Nathan Sutherland works as a translator, but he too is the British honorary consul in Venice and when his help is needed, he begins to investigate, always attracted by mysteries to be solved.

Plot and Writing

The story is an interesting mixture of adventures connected to one of the missing works of Monteverdi and vivid descriptions of every day’s life in Venice, between well-known and hidden places. Although there are captivating twists, there also are some lengths.

Conclusion

I definitely enjoy this entertaining, charming series about Nathan Sutherland, but this one could not completely convince me.

Reviews, Thriller & Crime , , ,

Venetian Gothic – Philip Gwynne Jones

Kommentar hinterlassen
AuthorPhilip Gwynne Jones
PublisherConstable
Date2 April 2020
EditionKindle
Pages368 (print)
LanguageEnglish
ASIN‎B07XW71W4T

“You’ve just been overcome by all the messa in scena, that’s all. A confused old man talking nonsense in an old dark house on a stormy night.” (Quotation page 98)

Content

On November 2nd 2017, the feast of I morti, Nathan Sutherland, Sergio Cardazzo and Lorenzo Bonzio are just leaving San Michele cemetery, when Father Michael Rayner, Angelican Chaplain, asks Nathan to read a few words during the service. In that moment two workman, instead of saving an old headstone, let it crash down on a small white coffin. The name written on the headstone is Gabriele Loredan, he died in 1980, only twelve years old, but his coffin is empty. This time it is the British Ambassador who asks Nathan to find out, what had happened thirty-seven years ago, because Gabriele Loredan, supposed to be buried at San Michele, had British nationality. However, Nathan soon finds out that there seem to be more people interested in this case and others, who are prepared to do everything to stop them.

Theme and Genre

This atmospheric thriller, part of a series, is set in Venice during the dark days of November. Themes are hidden family secrets of a noble, well-known Venetian family, a tragic accident many years ago and the mystical Isola Sant’Ariano.

Characters

The British Honorary consul in Venice, Nathan Sutherland, is investigating again and digs deep into secrets, buried long time ago.

Plot and Writing

This forth book to the series is told in two storylines, the main story takes place in November 2017, the second story is Gabriele’s story about his childhood and what happened a long time ago. The plot is thrilling and a perfect mixture between action, crime, dangerous situations, mysteries to be solved, unforeseeable twists and Nathans personal life with Federica, his best friend Dario, just moving back from Mestre to Venice and, not to forget, Nathan’s special cat Gramsci. Vivid descriptions of Venice in November, the everlasting beauty of this city and its special, hidden places, interesting facts about the famous island of the death, San Michele, and the mystical Isola Sant’Ariano complete the story.

Conclusion

This dark, haunting story for me is the best book of the series so far, a gripping, unputdownable, enjoyable read.

Reviews, Thriller & Crime , , ,

Vengeance in Venice – Philip Gwynne Jones

Kommentar hinterlassen
AuthorPhilip Gwynne Jones
PublisherConstable London
Date12 April 2018
EditionKindle
Pages352 (print version)
LanguageEnglish
ASINB076H519LX

“And difficult questions to think of. And when I’ve done that, I’ll try and think who to ask them of.” (Quotation page 135)

Content

The Venice Biennale of contemporary art always means work for Nathan Sutherland, the British honorary consul in Venice. Many translations but also invitations. Today he is invited to the vernissage in the British pavilion. For the work of Paul Considine, glass artist, the Pavilion had been changed into one large, single room, filled with gigantic glass constructions, glass staircases, floors, the gallery, glass everywhere. After the opening, Nathan leaves for the French pavilion, but a sudden noise, a crash followed by screaming, send him hurrying back to the British pavilion. The safety barrier has broken and Gorden Blake-Hayt, famous art critic, is dead. This is just the beginning of a series of art postcards with deadly messages and even though every trace leads to the glass artist, Nathan is not convinced.

Theme and Genre

This thriller, set in Venice, is book two of the Nathan Sutherland series and the main topics are art and the Venice Biennale.

Characters

This time, Nathan Sutherland risks his position as the British honorary consul, neglecting the order of the British ambassador in Rome to not get involved again into crime scenes and under suspicion, followed by negative publicity. Nathan just cannot stop himself and has to do everything to solve the mystery.

Plot and Writing

The events take place in beautiful Venice during the opening period of the famous art Biennale. The plot and the characters are well developed and believable and there are many unforeseeable twists and action to sum up to an exciting, enjoyable read.

Conclusion

A gripping story, together with interesting information about modern art and die famous Biennale of Venezia, combined with vivid descriptions of well known and also hidden places in beautiful Venice and the Italian lifestyle.

Reviews, Thriller & Crime , , ,

The Venetian Game – Philip Gwynne Jones

Kommentar hinterlassen
AuthorPhilip Gwynne Jones
PublisherConstable
Date2 March 2017
EditionKindle
Pages320 (print
LanguageEnglish
ASINB01KTSJNPA
ISBN-13978-1472123978

“What to do? I could either put it in the safe and forget about it, or I could open it up. Was I really going to do that?” (Quotation pos. 399)

Content

Nathan Sutherland is the British Honorary Consul in Venice, but as the title “honorary” says, the position is only honorary and he earns his money as translator, mostly of technical manuals. Usually, as honorary consul he has to deal with British tourists in emergency, such as lost passports, but also just asking for advices about sightseeing and restaurants. But one day a man, Mr. Montgomery, comes to his office, hands him over an envelope and asks him to keep locked into the safe for a few days, until he will be back to get it. Although he is offered ten thousand euros and told, that such services had never been a problem with his predecessor, Nathan refuses to take the package. Nevertheless, the next day the package is left at the Accademia, labelled Nathan Sutherland, British Consulate. So begins a deadly game about an antique book, an invaluable masterpiece or a brilliant forgery.

Theme and Genre

This thriller, situated in Venice, is the first book of the Nathan Sutherland Series. Themes are art and art forgery, tourism, everyday life in Venice and Italy, friendship.

Characters

All characters are different, very well developed. They are interesting and their behavior is believable and plausible.

Plot and Writing

Nathan Sutherland as first person narrator tells the story. A tight timeline and unforeseeable events make it exciting and the wider art theme makes it interesting too. The intense and vivid descriptions of Venice with all its almost unknown, to tourists hidden places, and Italian Lifestyle makes the story a gem for everybody who loves this famous city with all its different shades.

Conclusion

The first book of a series about Nathan Sutherland, the British honorary consul in Venice. A thrilling, enjoyable read, showing the famous architecture, the well-known churches, bridges, palazzi and places, as well as the hidden beauty and shades of the gorgeous, dazzling town Venice. Perfect, not only for Venice-aficionados.

Reviews, Thriller & Crime , , , ,

The Blood Promise: A Hugo Marston Novel – Mark Pryor

Kommentar hinterlassen
AuthorMark Pryor
PublisherSeventh Street Books
Date14 January 2014
EditionKindle
Pages290 (print)
LanguageEnglish
ASINB00E2RWQHC
ISBN-13978-1616148157

“History will judge these days, monsieur, it is not for us to do so. We must only live them the best we can.” (Quotation page 3)

Content

An old man in Paris writes a letter and puts it together with something special, he calls “le cadeau”, in a small box, hidden in a wooden chest, a kind of sailor’s chest, but solid, made from walnut, and more ornate. More than two hundred years later, this long forgotten chest is somehow connected to to an American senator’s visit a Paris. A visit at very short notice from Charles Lake, senator and presidential candidate. Hugo Marston has to be a kind of personal bodyguard, he calls it “babysitter”, of the senator, who will attend negotiations and talks about the Guadeloupe Islands, held for two days at Chateau Tourville near Paris. The morning after the first night at the Chateau, Senator Lake declares that he woke up during the night because somebody was in his room and even leaned over him, touching his face. An intruder in his room means clearly a security breach and Senator Lake asks Hugo Marston to begin immediately with his investigations. As this has to be done with discretion, Hugo calls his friend Capitaine Raul Garcia. Everything changes, when one of the prints found is connected o an unsolved murder, a burglary in the old country house of the Bassin family.

Theme and Genre

This crime novel is about secrets, hidden deep in the past. There is somebody, who finds out and tries to reveal it and somebody, who just wants to avoid this, at any price.

Characters

Time again to investigate and try to solve a case like a tricky puzzle for Hugo Marston and Paul Greene.

Plot and Writing

This book three of the Hugo Marston series begins with a letter in the past, but passes immediately into the present time and develops around Hugo Marston. The investigations and events are told chronologically, without giving to many details too early. Therefore, and together with unforeseeable twists, the guessing of the readers remains interesting and gripping.

Conclusion

An interesting story with some unforeseeable twists, gripping and entertaining to read.

Reviews, Thriller & Crime , , ,

The Crypt Thief: A Hugo Marston Novel – Mark Pryor

Kommentar hinterlassen
AuthorMark Pryor
PublisherSeventh Street Books
Date7 May 2013
EditionKindle Edition
Pages260 (print)
LanguageEnglish
ASINB00BH0VQ1Y
ISBN-13978-1616147853

“Right now it doesn’t matter who’s right and who’s wrong. The simple truth is, if we treat this as a terrorist act we get more resources from our people and more cooperation from the French.” (Quotation page 27)

Content

A man at the famous Père Lachaise cemetery at night, two whispering voices near the headstone of “James Douglas Morrison”. The next morning a young man and a woman are found dead near the grave. When Hugo Marston arrives at his office at the US embassy, he finds his friend, CIA-man Tom Green, deep in conversation with is boss, Ambassador Taylor. The dead man is American, the son of a senator. The woman on the other hand seems to be connected to terrorism. Definitely a case for the CIA. When Hugo sees a strange injury at the shoulder of the dead woman and more unusual transactions are found out, Hugo Marston, also an experienced profiler, is sure, that there must be not only a terroristic background. Somebody is collecting very special items and does it with a system that Hugo has to find out with high urgency, in order to prevent further assassinations. Who is this person moving unseen between graveyards and leaving small figurines, scarabs, with his victims?

Theme and Genre

This thriller is the second book of the Hugo Marston Novel Series, with gripping actions and investigations and the psychological conflict shows what a painful childhood can make to the later adult person.

Characters

Again, they work together, officially and nonofficially too: Hugo Marston, Tom Green and Capitaine Garcia from the French police.

Plot and Writing

This second case definitely is much more a thriller than a crime investigation, such as the first Hugo-Marston-Novel. A serial killer, lots of action and some unsettling crime scenes could definitely be too much for fainthearted readers. However, the story is still believable, well developed and thrilling. The plot combines two alternating narrative storylines, one of it telling the activities of the Scarab.

Conclusion

An exciting and gripping read. 

Reviews, Thriller & Crime , , ,

The Bookseller: The First Hugo Marston Novel – Mark Pryor

Kommentar hinterlassen
AuthorMark Pryor
PublisherSeventh Street Books
Date9 October 2012
EditionKindle
Pages306 (print-edition)
LanguageEnglish
ASINB00C4B2LRI

“If peace had a smell, he thought, it would be the smell of a library full of old, leather-bound books.” (Quotation page 221)

Content

Hugo Marston, forty-two years old, a former FBI profiler and now security chief at the American embassy in Paris, loves Paris and old books. Therefore, on his first day of a vacation he did not ask for, he visits his friend Max, a bouquiniste who owns one of the traditional bookstalls on the bank of the Seine. His has to watch as Max is kidnapped at gunpoint. The Paris police does not show very interested in Marston’s observations, because some witnesses, other bouquinistes, confirm they had seen no violence. But soon more booksellers disappear and fortunately Tom Green, an old friend of Hugo Marston, former CIA agent, now kind of retired as he says, has come to Paris for a visit and together they immediately start their own investigations and researches. Is the disappearance of Max connected to one of his special antiquarian books, and who tries to take over the bookstalls? How can so many different traces fit together?

Theme and Genre

This first book of the Hugo Marston Series is a crime novel located in Paris. Themes are investigation, crime and books.

Characters

We meet different characters, they all have their own stories and background. Their actions and behavior are believable and plausible.

Plot and Writing

The story, based on crime and investigations, takes place within a tight time schedule and is an enjoyable mixture of action, researches and a lively description of Paris and everyday life in the vibrant, famous city Paris. The plot brings up different themes, some of them reaching back into the past, and has enough unpredictable turns to maintain the narrative tension.

Conclusion

An interesting, gripping crime novel with surprising twists, where some antiquarian books play an important role. Enjoyable read, not only for booklovers.

Reviews, Thriller & Crime , , , ,

How The Light Gets In – Louise Penny

Kommentar hinterlassen
AuthorLouise Penny
PublisherHodder And Stoughton Ltd.
Date1 October 2021
EditionPaperback
Pages534
LanguageEnglish
ISBN-13ISBN-13: 978-1529386363

“Four days. And she had two gay sons, a large black mother, a demented poet for a friend and was considering getting a duck.” (Citation page 10)

Content

December in Three Pines, a small, hidden village in Québec, means lots of snow and Christmas preparations. Seventy-seven years old Constance Pineault comes for a visit and stays at Myrna’s, who invites her to come back and stay over Christmas. But Constance does not arrive and does not answer her phone at home and Myrna calls an old friend, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, homicide department Sûreté du Québec. When Gamache finds out the real identity of Constance, he starts to investigate. For him this comes very convenient, as he at the same time secretly is conducting internal investigations and digging deeper and deeper into old, powerful connections, who are prepared to whatever it takes to stop him.

Theme and Genre

This Canadian crime fiction novel is book nine of the Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery series.

Characters

Three Pines is a special place and community and its inhabitants are loveable. Who would not like Ruth Zardo, the hard, edgy, old poet and her duck Rosa? Chief Inspector Armand Gamache looks more like a professor than a cop and is a brilliant investigator and a deeply caring person. When other investigators look for clues to the killer, he looks for clues to the life of the victim.

Plot and Writing

This novel is everything, a story about love, family and friendship, about life in a rural village, but also about crime, murder and deadly danger. Louise Penny perfectly knows how to write a gripping and thrilling plot with many twists, but also colorful descriptions of the beautiful surroundings in December and at the same time look at human behavior with empathy and humanity. Funny dialogs such as “‘Are you telling me the elite of the Sûreté followed Santa Claus through downtown Montréal?‘ ‘Not Santa. It was Snow White.’” (citation page 508), make you laugh out loud while breathless reading through the absorbing story full of intrigue.

Conclusion

A gripping, wonderful, perfect page-turner. For me this was the first book of the series, but I will definitely follow Armand Gamache to his next cases and also go back for some of the older cases.

Reviews, Thriller & Crime , ,

What She Knew – Gilly Macmillan

Kommentar hinterlassen
AuthorGilly Macmillan
PublisherPiatkus
Date18 August 2016
FormatKindle
Pages565 (print)
LanguageEnglish
ASINB01K1IZNIE

“If there’s so much potential for others to judge us wrongly, then how can we be sure that our assessment of them in any way resembles the real person that lies underneath?” (citation pos. 152)

Content

Rachel Jenner, recently divorced, photographer, loves to go for a walk with her son Ben, eight years old, and their dog Skittle. When he wants to run ahead to go on the rope swing, Skittle on his side, she tries not to listen to her maternal voice and allows it, because it is not far and he knows the way. After a short phone call with her sister, Rachel arrives at the rope – and Ben is not here. He is missing, without any traces. Every day that passes makes the search and the questions more desperate.

Theme and Genre

This thriller is about the impact of a case of a missing child on the family, friends and the investigating police. An important topic is the psychological point of view, the feelings of the persons involved. The story also shows the pressure of the public opinion, of journalists, of strangers gathering and sharing their opinions via social media, hate postings and bullying.

Characters

Rachel sometimes still struggles to get over her divorce. She feels guilty for letting Ben run ahead in the wood and with the public opinion calling her a bad mother almost breaks her down, as well as having to wait for results of the investigation. But she never gives up.

DI James Clemo leads the investigation team, knowing that time is important and if the want to find Ben, they first have to find out who took him.

Plot and Writing

Rachel and Jim, beginning with a prolog one year after Ben’s disappearance, tell the captivating story. Each day is a chapter and begins with notes from an OJJDP law report about Missing and Abducted Children, Rachel’s description of the events and Jim who tells his part to the story to his therapist. Together with extracts from the blog, it is this special and brilliant plotting, that makes the story so breathtaking, deeply impressing and thrilling.

Conclusion

A gripping, unputdownable story and definitely not a book that is closed with the last page, shelved and soon forgotten. An amazing read that remains in the readers thoughts.

Reviews, Thriller & Crime ,

The Broken Girls – Simone St. James

Kommentar hinterlassen
AuthorSimone St. James
PublisherWildfire
Date20 March 2018
EditionKindle
Pages338 (Print-edition)
LanguageEnglish
ASINB076H6T827

“Fiona realized as she walked inside that she’d been picturing something Harry-Potter-like, with high Gothic ceilings and warm candlelight.” (Quotation page 56)

Content

Idlewild Hall had been a boarding school for girls, sent away by their families. Finally closed around 1979 and since abandoned, the new owners want to restore it and reopen the house as a new, modern school.

Young Journalist Fiona Sheridan has her own bitter memories connected with the Idlewild property, as twenty years ago her sister Deb had been found dead on the former sports field. Although Tim, her sister’s boyfriend, had been sentenced, for Fiona there are still lots of very unclear details and open questions. She wants to write an article about Idlewild Hall and starts her own researches. When the renovation team finds the remains of the body of a young girl, dead for more than sixty years and definitely murdered, she digs deep into the past of Idlewild Hall. Who was Mary Hand?

Theme and Genre

This dark and atmospheric story is written in the perfect tradition of the famous Gothic fiction originated in England in the second half of the 18th and the 19th century. There are female heroines, four girls in 1950 and Fiona in 2014, a ghost and darkness and mysteries. Topic are the living conditions of for different reasons unwanted girls in the early 60ies, but also female friendship, tenacity and courage, now and then. Another topic are grieve and loss and the Holocaust.

Characters

Fiona is likeable, because although her questions are soon getting dangerous for her, she is not willing to stop and give up. 1950, in the dark, cold surrounding of Idlewild School, four girls, Katie, Roberta, CeCe and Sonia are best friends, holding together against everything.

Plot and Writing

The story takes place in Barrons, Vermont. There are two timelines, the fifties with each chapter focusing on one of the four girls and 2014, with details going back to 1994. Both timelines are gripping und breathtaking, with surprising twists and turns. Especially historical facts connected to Sophie´s story were thoroughly researched.

Conclusion

A dark, atmospheric novel in the tradition of the famous English Gothic literature, gripping and full of suspense. A perfect pageturner, sleepless nights included.

Deutsche Ausgabe: Die schwarze Frau, Goldmann Verlag, 18. Februar 2019

Gothic, Reviews, Thriller & Crime , ,

The Couple Next Door – Shari Lapena

Kommentar hinterlassen
AuthorShari Lapena
PublisherCorgi Books
Date20 April 2017
EditionPaperback
Pages368
LanguageEnglish
ISBN-13978-0552174060

“The parents’ desperate expressions indicate that they would like to believe that it isn’t their fault after all, for leaving their baby alone” (original quote, page 23)

Content

Anne and her husband Marco are invited to dinner by their neighbors next door. When the babysitter cancels, they leave their six months old daughter sleeping in her crib at home, checking every thirty minutes if she is fine. When they come home at around one-thirty, the front door is open and the crib empty!

Theme and Genre

This psychological thriller is about parenting, postnatal depression and kidnapping. Which makes this story special is the fact, that it does not only focus on the criminal acts and research, but on the different characters of the persons involved. It shows how one single decision can change a life forever in a way that could not have been foreseen.

Plot and Writing

The gripping story is much more than a typical whodunit. The plot develops and shows the reader the idea and motivation of one of the persons involved, but then continues with disturbing and surprising twists, which does not allow the reader to put the book down again before the last page.

Conclusion

A gripping, disturbingly realistic plot, which captivates the reader with its unforeseeable twists.

Reviews, Thriller & Crime , ,

Lullaby – Leila Slimani

Kommentar hinterlassen
AuthorLeila Slimani
PublisherFaber & Faber limited
Date4 January 2018
EditionPaperback
Pages218
LanguageEnglish
ISBN-13978-0-571-33754-5

„Her face is like a peaceful sea, its depths suspected by no one.“ (page 17)

Content

Paul and Myriam live in Paris. They have two children, babyboy Adam and a little girl, Mila. Myriam, a lawyer, after a happy time as a mother, desperately wants to go back to work. When a former classmate offers her a job in his law firm, she is looking for a nanny. Miriam with her arabic roots definitely does not want a North African nanny for her children. Then comes Louisa, a blonde widow over 40 and perfect. Soon Louise becomes an indispensable part of the family …

Theme and Genre

This psychological thriller is about modern parenting, the difficult job of nannies, the complex place they have in the family they work for. This novel also shows how class and race can influence the whole life of a person.

Characters

Myriam, happy mother of two, with the months as a housewife passing, falls into a serious depression. Back in the law firm, she works on her carrier, often overhours, and sometimes feels bad about it. She also prefers to neglect small signs that should alert her.

For Paul it was normal to earn the money for his family and their privileged upper-class life. He wants to share part of it with Louisa. For him too, Louisa is the perfect nanny and when Myriam begins to be worried, he is convinced that she just overreacts.

Louisa loves the children and wants to be needed and be part of the family.

Plot and Writing

The book begins with telling the end, but this does not make the story less gripping. As reader you try to scan every sentence for hints, how and when things changed and led to what happened.

Leila Slimani is a captivating storyteller, switching between persons and their memories and descriptions of the life in Paris, comparing the different living conditions, while moving the plot forward.

Conclusion

A disturbing psychological thriller about the problems of mothers reconciling job and family and the questions of every parent, if the nanny their children grow up with can really be trusted. A dark, gripping page-turner.

Reviews, Thriller & Crime , , ,

The Dark Net – Benjamin Percy

Kommentar hinterlassen
AuthorBenjamin Percy
PublisherHodder & Stoughton
Date3 May 2018
EditionPaperback
Pages272
LanguageEnglish
ISBN-13978-1473652231

„When you know someone’s pissed about what you’re writing – when you know you’re potentially in danger – that’s when you know you’re doing your job.“ (quotation page 36)

Content

Lela Falcon, reporter, is researching a story about a company called Undertown, that had now ownes a building connected to Lela’s first story, many years ago, about the serial killer Tusk. Now his sign, a red right hand appears again. He is dead – is he? Together with her niece Hannah, Mike Juniper, Josh, intern at her editor and his friend Derek, a genious of a hacker, she tries to stop an ancient dark force that is about to change the world through an internet virus.

Theme and Genre

This thrilling story is a combination of magic, horror and modern technology. It is gripping and makes you hope for the lives of the protagonists that try everything to stop the dark forces.

Conclusion

A book that makes you unable to put down, but for readers like me too much of „traditional horror“ with ugly figures to fight. I was hoping for more IT and dark net instead. But with the story developing and going on, it absolutely convinced me, drove me forward until the end. Definitely a book for readers that like the horror-genre and authors like Stephen King.

Reviews, Thriller & Crime

I’m Thinking of Ending Things – Iain Reid

Kommentar hinterlassen
AuthorIain Reid
PublisherGallery/Scout Press
Date21 March 2017
EditionPaperback
Pages240
LanguageEnglish
ISBN-13978-1501126949

“Reality happens only once.” (Quotation page 48)

Content

Two people in a car, driving on a cold winter day somewhere in the rural country. Jake and his girlfriend are going to visit his parents who live on a lonely farm. The girl is thinking about the future, but mostly about ending things. They could stay overnight but the girl wants to dive home, although it is late, snowing and freezing.

Theme and Genre

This is a gripping, dense, psychological thriller with many unforeseeable twists and chapters that seem not to fit into the story. A simple road trip that ends different from anything the reader would expect.

Characters

The girl, we do not even know her name, is thinking about ending things, maybe after having met his parents. She is scared by many calls and voice messages from a stranger, telling her “there is only one question”. Jack is intelligent and the girl seems somehow attracted to him.

Plot and Writing

It seems a simple car ride, written in the first person as told only by the girl and her thoughts. Interrupted by pieces of a written conversation that gives some frightening hints. A special twisted story, chilling and very entertaining the same time.

Conclusion

Words are missing to explain this gripping psychological thriller, the genius of the author, without giving too many hints. I would recommend just reading it and enjoying.

Reviews, Thriller & Crime ,

Murder on Christmas Eve, Classic Mysteries for the Festive Season

Kommentar hinterlassen
AuthorEllis Peters, Ian Rankin et al.
PublisherProfile Books Ltd.
Date2 November 2017
EditionPaperback
Pages233
LanguageEnglish
ISBN-13978-1781259184

‚Tis the season to be jolly … or is it’? (Book cover)

Content (Book cover)

Christmas Eve. While the world sleeps, snow falls gently from the sky, presents lie under the tree … and murder is afoot. In this collection of ten classic murder mysteries by the best crime writers from the 1920s to today, death and mayhem take many festive forma, from the inventive to the unexpected.
From a Santa Claus with a grudge to a cat who knows who killed its owner on Christmas Eve, these are stories to enjoy – and by mystified by – in front of a roaring fire, mince pie in hand.

Theme and Genre

A collection of classic short stories, written by well-known authors. We meet a cat that helps uncover the truth,  strange “Footprints in the Sky”, a valuable unique manuscript and a thoughtful making story about “On a Christmas day in the morning.

Conclusion

Special, thrilling and enjoyable short stories, perfect for this time of the year.

Gothic, Reviews, Short Stories, Thriller & Crime ,

Origin: A Robert Langdon Thriller – Dan Brown

Kommentar hinterlassen
AuthorDan Brown
PublisherDoubleday
Date3 October 2017
EditionHardcover
Pages480
LanguageEnglish
ISBN-13978-0385514231

„May our philosophies keep pace with our technologies. May our compassion keep pace with our powers. And may love, not fear, be the engine of change.” (Originalzitat)

Content (Book Cover)

Robert Langdon, Harvard professor of symbology and religious iconology, arrives at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao to attend the unveiling of a discovery that “will change the face of science forever”. The evening’s host is his friend and former student, Edmond Kirsch, a forty-year-old tech magnate whose dazzling inventions and audacious predictions have made him a controversial figure around the world. This evening is to be no exception: he claims he will reveal an astonishing scientific breakthrough to challenge the fundamentals of human existence.


But Langdon and several hundred other guests are left reeling when the meticulously orchestrated evening is blown apart before Kirsch’s precious discovery can be revealed. With his life under threat, Langdon is forced into a desperate bid to escape, along with the museum’s director, Ambra Vidal. Together they flee to Barcelona on a perilous quest to locate a cryptic password that will unlock Kirsch’s secret.

In order to evade a tormented enemy who is one step ahead of them at every turn, Langdon and Vidal must navigate labyrinthine passageways of hidden history and ancient religion. On a trail marked only by enigmatic symbols and elusive modern art, Langdon and Vidal uncover the clues that will bring them face-to-face with a world-shaking truth that has remained buried – until now.

Handlung

Der erfolgreiche, geniale Zukunftsforscher  Edmund Kirsch hat seinen Freund und früheren Professor Robert Langdon eingeladen, im Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao zusammen mit einigen hundert weiteren Gästen an der Präsentation seiner sensationellen Entdeckung teilzunehmen: die Antworten auf die beiden größten Fragen der Menschheit „Woher kommen wir“ und „Wohin gehen wir“. Ein Gott als Schöpfer ist bei diesen streng wissenschaftlichen Fakten keine Option mehr. Doch bevor Edmund Kirsch die eigentliche Präsentation, die gleichzeitig weltweit übertragen wird, starten kann, wir er vor den Augen aller erschossen.

Doch es gibt ein Passwort und einen Ort, wo dieses Projekt des Zukunftsforschers gespeichert ist, und somit auch nach seinem Tod noch veröffentlicht werden kann. Nur einer kann diese Rätsel lösen und so das Geheimnis um den Inhalt der wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnisse seines Freundes lüften: Robert Langdon. Gemeinsam mit Ambra Vidal, der Direktorin des Guggenheim Museums Bilbao, die für die Präsentation eng mit Edmund Kirsch zusammen gearbeitet hatte, beginnt für den Professor ein gefährlicher Wettlauf gegen die Zeit, gegen mächtige Feinde, die genau diese Veröffentlichung auf jeden Fall verhindern wollen. Hat Robert Langdon Erfolg und was genau ist diese bahnbrechende Entdeckung?

Fazit

Bis vor wenigen Tagen hätte ich auf die Frage nach dem meiner Meinung nach besten Buch von Dan Brown (einer meiner Lieblingsautoren) ohne zu zögern geantwortet: „Inferno“. Ich weiß, da gehen die Meinungen auseinander. Wie auch immer, seit heute ist meine Antwort: „Origin“. Diesmal begibt sich der Autor in ein neues Setting, in dem Symbole und Rätsel zwar eine Rolle spielen, jedoch geht es hier vor allem um die essentiellen und zeitlosen Fragen der Menschheit „Woher kommen wir“ und „Wohin gehen wir“ und auch um die Tatsache, dass Wissenschaft, Technik und Religion hier völlig kontroverse Antworten geben.

Für mich ist es großartig, wie Robert Langdon hier einen spannenden Thriller entwickelt hat, der mögliche Antworten anbietet, ohne jemals unlogisch zu werden.

Eine beeindruckende Geschichte, die auch zum Nachdenken anregt.

Ich empfehle dieses Buch von Dan Brown nicht nur Dan Brown Fans, sondern auch Technik-interessierten Lesern, die auch einen spannenden Roman zu schätzen wissen. Wer, so wie ich, die Stadt Barcelona und Gaudi liebt, wird die vielen präzisen Schilderungen einzelner Orte, Bauten usw. ebenfalls genießen. Manchmal hatte ich während des Lesens in Wikipedia nachgesehen – Dan Browns Beschreibungen sind wieder exakt und entsprechen absolut der Realität.

Reviews, Thriller & Crime , , ,