First Drop

by Zoe Sharp

First Drop is the first book in the thriller series featuring the heroine Charlie Fox, an ex-army sharp-shooter turned private bodyguard. The story follows her first assignment as a close protection specialist for the teenage son of a wealthy American businessman. Needless to say, things start to go wrong very quickly...


After meeting the author at the Writers' Holiday at Caerleon, and listening to her give a very interesting talk about her life as a novelist, I was a little disappointed with this book.

Don't get me wrong, it's certainly a good thriller and has plenty of action and pace. The style was interesting too, a kind of sardonic "gum-shoe" dry humour. I liked this at first but it did get a little bit tired towards the end. The clipped, minimalist rendition of speech and thoughts began to grate and make me work harder to read it.

I had no difficulty with the plot, which rarely strayed from the linear. This was probably a result of the book being written in the first-person voice of Charlie, which gives the story a good flow but denies it any real complexity. I did not see all the plot twists coming but those that I did spot were telegraphed well in advance. In the end it did not matter too much because most of the other characters were vaguely "bad guys" anyway, even the ones who were not the ultimate criminals.

First Drop is available from St. Martin's Paperbacks, ISBN 978-0-312-93704-1.

Reviewed by Captain Black

Under The Dome

By Stephen King


There are people who say that Stephen King is past his best. There are people who say that he has become less sympathetic, more misanthropic since his accident at the turn of the last decade. There are people who say that he can’t write endings. And then he goes and writes “Under The Dome”.

At 877 pages, this is a big book with a capital B, I & G, bigger even than “The Stand” (a lot of people’s favorite King book). But even at that length it doesn’t feel underpowered, slow, or tricked out with padding and accessories. Uh-uh, this book is a souped-up, stripped-down custom car, pedal-to-the-metal, no time for sight-seeing, barely a stop to refill the tanks.

Its size begs comparison with “The Stand”, but the similarities don’t stop there. King has said elsewhere that the failing of “The Stand” was that it had too much space, that the survivors of the Captain Trips flu had the whole of the country’s resources with which to rebuild society. So, in “Under The Dome” he re-addresses the themes of the earlier book, but in a highly compressed environment. Instead of the whole country, the setting is a town of a few thousand people cut off from the rest of the world by a mysterious invisible, unbreakable wall. Instead of the months it takes for events to come to a head, the whole passage of this book is less than a week. Instead of unlimited resources, the inhabitants have the contents of the local supermarket, and a rapidly staling air supply.

Spot the other similarities: an outsider/drifter hero, a man with a burden of guilt on his conscience; a religious maniac; an upright, courageous heroine; a sympathetic police chief; a plucky kid genius; a song that is on everyone’s lips; a society that is devolving into Civil War, because of one man’s lust for power.

But “Under The Dome” is more, much more than a rehash. It is also a parable about isolationism, pollution, about politicians claiming the mandate of God, about seeing terrorists in every shadow, and using the threat of terrorism to promote fear, force through fascist policies and take an ever tighter grip on the people.

And more than this, it is a gripping read, and King, whatever failings he may be accused of, is never less than a master of readable prose. As a plot mechanic, he weaves his multiple strands to keep the reader turning the page (and, in this reader’s case, actually shouting out warnings to the characters of what lies around the corner). The characters themselves are warmer than King has created of late - “Duma Key” being a notable example of a less-than-sympathetic lead - and King’s habit of killing his cast offhand and callously that was demonstrated in that book is reined in tightly here. That is not to say that anyone is safe, far from it; but in “Under the Dome”, when King has someone die it serves a purpose both to the narrative and to the reader’s sense of the inevitable (and sometime unjust) nature of death.

King is often dismissed as a “horror” writer. In truth, with books like this he is much closer to the British “disaster” SF novelists of the Fifties (John Christopher and Wyndham, for example), and perhaps “Under The Dome” will go some way to making him appreciated as something more than a horror comic writer with delusions of grandeur.

He still can’t write endings, though. But sometimes it is the journey that counts, not the destination.

Reviewed by Mike Deller

Constance

by Rosie Thomas

Rosie Thomas writes prolifically, and I’ve not read one of her stories that didn’t delight me.

Constance is Connie Thorne, a woman in her forties constantly haunted by her origins. She was a foundling, abandoned by her mother at birth, but her efforts to trace her mother are fruitless. She clings to a little earring placed in her swaddling clothes, her most precious possession worn close to her heart.

Constance is beautifully written, a tale of love, betrayal and forgiveness, with Thomas moving the reader seamlessly between the years, the characters and the settings.

Deeply unhappy in her adoptive family, Connie finds a job and leaves home the day after her sixteenth birthday. Always competitive with her deaf sister, Connie falls in love with Bill, her sister Jeanette’s boyfriend. The feeling is mutual, and Bill often comments: ‘I’ve married the wrong sister.’

Their illicit love continues through the years, with Connie and Bill undertaking a lengthy affair until they are discovered. The family is driven apart and Connie, rejected, moves from London to a peaceful hideaway in Bali, conducting her musical career from this idyllic paradise. Thomas’ description of Connie’s house in Bali with its ‘feathery leaves against broad blades against sharp spikes, a lush billow of textured greenery’ had me swooning. Yet into this paradise technology intervenes when Jeanette sends an email telling Connie she is dying. They must face the past, put the bitterness of betrayal behind them.

Constance is beautifully written with a cast of characters who the reader can identify with. Connie, the heroine, is definitely flawed, yet extremely likeable. I admire her easy acceptance of others, such as Roxana, her nephew Noah’s feisty young girlfriend from Uzbekistan. Also, even when committing the ultimate betrayal she seems to be considering others on some level.

Thomas tackles several themes in this novel, displaying her understanding of the human condition. As well as infidelity, the search for identity, love and forgiveness, she also explores the difficult subject of impending death. Instead of being dark and depressing, it is dealt a deft hand, with the cremation scene in Bali and Jeanette’s reaction to it a brilliant, uplifting touch.

With very different locations – London, Surrey, Suffolk, Bali and Uzbekistan, Constance is quite a revelation with Thomas obviously having done her research. Balinese customs are intricately explained and Connie’s dealings with the native Balinese sensitively portrayed, as are those in Uzbekistan. Connie and Roxana’s visit to the Hammam in Uzbekistan where they partake in a bathing ritual similar to those in ancient Rome, is an amazing insight into the culture of women in this politically troubled country caught between ‘Marx and Mohammed.’

Able to be enjoyed on several levels, Constance is a thoroughly entertaining read, but at times you will be moved to tears.

Reviewed by Denise Covey who blogs at L’Aussie

Nine Dragons

By Michael Connelly


“Harry Bosch is back” - four words that will get a queue of fans forming outside the bookshops. But is there enough in “Nine Dragons” to draw in the new reader?

The answer is “yes”. Anyone reading this as a standalone novel, and their first introduction to the cast of Michael Connelly’s world, will find more than enough excitement and mystery to carry them through.

What starts out as almost a routine murder investigation (albeit one that throws echoes back from Harry’s earlier days) becomes complicated and deadly as the Triads get involved, Harry’s daughter’s life is placed in jeopardy, and Harry is forced to operate outside the strict boundaries of the law. Mysteries baffle, heads roll, blood flows, the plot twists back on itself like a dragon in a Chinese New Year celebration, and the end of the novel finds Bosch looking at a life that has changed considerably.

Connelly has been writing about Bosch for almost twenty years, and the character ages at the same rate as the author; the Harry of “Nine Dragons” has grown older, but perhaps little wiser, since his debut in 1992’s “The Black Echo”. In this latest novel, we see Harry as a less sympathetic character than before. His obsession with “the mission” puts him at odds with his co-workers from the outset, and the threat to his daughter magnifies his sense of purpose (and consequent disregard for the feelings of others) to the point where the reader can see him for what he is; not a knight in shining armour, but a flawed, complex human being.

The Harry-verse is populated by recurring characters and, indeed, characters who have their own separate literary existence in which Bosch may occasionally make a guest appearance. In one Connelly novel the hero even proves to be on nodding acquaintanceship with Elvis Cole, a private detective created by a completely different author. So, for the seasoned Bosch reader, there is the added delight of seeing old friends come and go. The delight for the new reader will, of course, be when they delve into the back catalogue and catch up on the back stories, as they undoubtedly will after reading “Nine Dragons”.

Reviewed by Mike Deller

Heaven Can Wait

By Cally Taylor

If you like romantic comedies, you’re going to love this. But even if you’ve never read a romantic comedy before, and you think they’re not really your thing, you should still read this one.

Heaven Can Wait is the story of Lucy, who dies just as she is about to marry her fiance Dan. It is a story of loss, longing and the overwhelming power of love. The story starts just before Lucy dies, and although the blurb lets you know that’s going to happen, it’s still a dramatic moment.

Lucy’s status as a ‘dead girl’ gives the story its supernatural slant, and skilful use of flashback fills in the details of Lucy’s life before death to poignant effect.

The story is told with a light touch and buckets of humour. Beware – once you have started it, you will not be able to put it down. Expect late nights until you’ve finished it.

I loved the romantic tale of Lucy’s quest to be reunited with Dan, but I also adored the story of her growing affection for her fellow residents in the ‘house of wannabe ghosts’, Claire and Brian. Despite getting off to a bad start, especially with Claire, Lucy’s journey towards understanding her two housemates gives the story an extra dimension and lifts it out of the ordinary.

There are some great cameo roles as well. Lucy’s geeky colleagues and Sally the eccentric sandwich girl particularly stand out.

Lucy manages to get herself into some hilarious situations and also some heartbreaking ones. This book really will have you laughing one minute and crying the next.

As you get towards the end of the book it becomes even more impossible to put down. You’ll be desperate to know what eventually happens to Lucy.

This novel is a real treat to savour.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

Double Cross

by James Patterson

Double Cross is a recent book in a long-running series of thrillers featuring the forensic profiler Alex Cross. Two of the earlier books, Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider have been made into films, featuring Morgan Freeman in the lead role.

This latest one sees Cross pitted against his old enemy Kyle Craig, as well as another new and ruthless criminal called the Audience Killer.

The pace seems relentless at times. I say seems relentless because Patterson writes in very short chapters, one of his trademarks. As a result of this, I found the book too easy to pick up and put down, despite the fast-moving story. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but it did lose some of its grip on me.

I'm sure newcomers to the series will enjoy this book; it's a powerful thriller with many twists and turns. My problem is that I'm getting used to them and I felt that Patterson is now churning them out according to a formula, albeit a winning one in terms of book sales. The criminals were suitably extreme and shocking, well drawn characters but I felt that Alex Cross and the other good guys were somewhat bored with the whole thing.

Double Cross is available from Headline, ISBN 978-0-7553-4941-8.

Reviewed by Captain Black

Book news: The Man Booker winner is...

As widely predicted, Hilary Mantel was last night awarded the 2009 Man Booker Prize for Fiction for her novel Wolf Hall. The novel takes the reader behind the scenes of a tunultuous period of history, the reign of King Henry VIII.