Pip's Reads 2011

[Charm]

I've been looking at your reviews on the Karen rose books, think I'll get 1 or 2 to try they sound like my cup of tea!

 

Excellent choice! Start with Don't Tell, I really hope you like it.

[~Andrea~]

I'm glad you enjoyed Dorian Gray Pipread. I loved it - apart from one rather longwinded boring bit in the middle. I guess it was chapter 11

[pipread]

I'm glad you enjoyed Dorian Gray Pipread. I loved it - apart from one rather longwinded boring bit in the middle. I guess it was chapter 11

 

 

I couldn't help but wonder why that chapter alone was so boring, I guess Oscar Wilde just got carried away!

Edited February 21, 2011 by pipread

[pipread]

Book no.10 (on kindle)

 

Remix - Lexi Revellian

 

from amazon

 

Caz Tallis restores rocking horses in her London workshop. When shabby but charismatic Joe and his dog turn up on her roof terrace, she is reluctantly drawn into investigating a rock star’s murder from three years before – an unsolved case the police have closed. Somebody is prepared to kill to prevent it being reopened – and is Caz's judgment clouding as she falls in love?

 

REMIX is a feel-good page turner, that you won't want to put down until you reach the satisfying ending.

 

 

I downloaded this to my kindle after reading the mainly 5 star reviews and for 49p I couldn't really go wrong.

However after the first couple of chapters I really started to struggle with it. It took about a week for me to read a quarter of the book and with my mojo seriously threatening to go AWOL, I decided to abandon it.

Will I return to it? Unlikely - I think it's just not for me.

[pipread]

Book no. 11 (on Kindle)

 

The Hanging Shed - Gordon Ferris

 

from Amazon

 

 

Glasgow 1946. The last time Brodie came home it was 1942 and he was a proud young man in a paratrooper's uniform. Now, the war is over but victory's wine has soured and Brodie's back in Scotland to try and save childhood friend Shug Donovan from the gallows. Everyone thought Donovan was dead, shot down in the war. Perhaps it would have been kinder if he had been killed. The man who returns from the war is unrecognisable: mutilated, horribly burned. Donovan keeps his own company, only venturing out for heroin to deaden the pain of his wounds. When a local boy is found raped and murdered, there is only one suspect. Donovan claims he's innocent but a mountain of evidence says otherwise. Despite the hideousness of the crime, ex-policeman Brodie feels compelled to try and help his one time friend. Working with advocate Samantha Campbell, Brodie trawls the mean streets of the Gorbals and the green hills of western Scotland in their search for the truth. What they find is an unholy alliance of troublesome priests, corrupt coppers and Glasgow's deadliest razor gang, happy to slaughter to protect their dark and dirty secrets. As time runs out for the condemned man, the murder tally of innocents starts to climb. When Sam Campbell disappears, it's the last straw for Brodie, and he reverts to his wartime role as a trained killer. It's them or him -

 

 

Once I started this book I found it hard to put down! The only slight problem I had was deciphering some of the Glaswegian slang! that did nothing to put me off the story though.

Set in Glasgow soon after the end of WW11, I thought the author made very believable descriptions of the places and the atmosphere of the time. I found the characters to be strong and well written, and I can imagine a series of books with Brodie as the central character.

This was a good crime thriller with many unexpected twists and turns, a real page turner.

 

9/10

 

 

I've all ready downloaded and started reading another book by this author,

Truth Dare Kill - Gordon Ferris

[Kidsmum]

Great review Pipread I'll be looking out for this one.

[pipread]

Great review Pipread I'll be looking out for this one.

 

 

Thanks Kidsmum I really like the easy flowing style of his writing, I read it on the kindle but I think it's only just being released in book form. If you get it I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

[pipread]

Book no.12 (on kindle)

 

Truth Dare Kill - Gordon Ferris

 

From the Publisher

Truth Dare KILL - Gordon Ferris

The war's over. But no medals for Danny McRae. Just amnesia and blackouts;

twin handicaps for a private investigator with an upper-class client on the

hook for murder.

 

It gets harder: newspaper headlines about a Soho psychopath stir grisly

memories in Danny's fractured mind. As the two bloody sagas collide and

interweave, Danny finds himself running for his life across the

bomb-ravaged city.

 

Will his past catch up with him before his enemies? And which would be

worse?

 

Fast-paced post-war noir, with grimly accurate London setting.

 

 

After enjoying The Hanging Shed by Gordon Ferris so much I decided to look for other books by him and found Truth Dare Kill. It is apparently the authors first novel and has Danny McRae, a private investigator as its main character. The story is set in post war london. The characters are well written and the atmosphere of the places and people of London so soon after the war were in my opinion, captured well.

Gordon Ferris is a good story teller and the book had enough twists and turns to keep me turning the pages even after I guessed the 'villain' of the piece.

Again I can see Danny McRae in a series of books and I'm sure the character will continue to develop and grow.

I think I'm going to have to download the follow up book now! Off to the kindle store I go.

[Ben]

Hey Pipread good to see you enjoying some good reads this year so far. I see you have Hell Gate by Linda Fairstein on the currently reading section of your profile. Now, I know not everyone edits these regularly so you can understand that I'm a little unsure whether you're still reading it or not. However if you are, what do you think? I bought it this year sometime - I can't exactly remember when - and it's been sat there looking at me ever since. Let me know and happy reading.

Edited March 5, 2011 by Ben

[pipread]

Hey Pipread good to see you enjoying some good reads this year so far. I see you have Hell Gate by Linda Fairstein on the currently reading section of your profile. Now, I know not everyone edits these regularly so you can understand that I'm a little unsure whether you're still reading it or not. However if you are, what do you think? I bought it this year sometime - I can't exactly remember when - and it's been sat there looking at me ever since. Let me know and happy reading.

 

Hello Ben how are you? hope all's well.

I'm afraid that I'm guilty of not updating the current reading! I read Hell Gate some time last year I can say that I read about 4 Linda Fairstein books in fairly quick succession and enjoyed them all, so I'd say it's definately worth a read! Hope you enjoy it when you get to it anyway.

[pipread]

Book no 13

 

Protector - Laurel Dewey (on kindle)

 

from Amazon

Here is the gut-wrenching, heartrending story of hard-bitten Denver homicide detective Jane Perry and nine-year-old Emily Lawrence. Emily has witnessed the murder of her parents ? murders authorities believe have ties to a larger wave of crime. But Emily can't recall a thing about the killings. When the murderers come after Emily, Jane's boss sends the two of them to a remote town in Colorado. There, Jane, who doesn't have a maternal bone in her body, must pose as Emily's mother and serve as her protector. At the same time, she needs to help Emily slowly remember the devastating event without traumatizing her further. And while she does so, the killer is closing in . . . .Protector marks the debut of Jane Perry, an immensely flawed, utterly sympathetic character. She will shock you, confound you, astonish you, and ultimately grip your soul.

 

 

In some ways it started out a bit of a page turner but then I guessed the villain of the story quite early on which put a bit of a dampner on it

I also found it pretty far fetched which also spoiled it for me.

I found it very hard to believe that a police detective with an alcohol addiction, suffering from the trauma of a previous case going badly wrong and still suffering psychological issues from the effects of an abusive father, would be given sole charge of a nine year old child

I did though manage to finish the book so it was still enjoyable, just not the best in this genre.

 

6/10

Edited March 11, 2011 by pipread

[pipread]

Haven't been here for a while! However recent reads:

 

book 14, The Man From Beijing - Henning Mankell

Really enjoyed this book, the first I`d read by this author 8/10

 

book 15, Faceless Killers an inspector Wallender Mystery- Henning Mankell

The first in the wallender series, enjoyed it very much and looking forward to reading more in the series. 8/10

 

book 16, The Unquiet Heart - Gordon Ferris (kindle)

I didn't enjoy this as much as the first 2 books I read by this author but it was good all the same. 7/10

 

book 17, Silver - Steven Savile (kindle)

A quick, enjoyable read. 8/10

 

Night Train To Lisbon - Pascal Mercier

I gave up on this one, I tried to enjoy but failed, it just wasn't for me.

[pickle]

I love the Wallender series they are all good, I am not so keen on Mankell's other books some of them I found really boring and jusy grey and dull.

 

Have you watched the excellent series on BBC4 with Krister Henrickson?

[pipread]

I hadn't heard of Wallender until a friend recomended them and she said Mankell's other books are hit and miss.

I`m going to see if I can get the DVD's to watch as I haven't seen any of the TV series, thanks for the tip.

[pipread]

Oh - it's been awhile since I was here!

and I haven't read that much considering how long it has been either. Never mind though, I'm not even sure if I can remember how many books I've read (the kindle ones are easy, can't forget them!)

 

Gone with The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

I loved this book, I really can't believe I left it so long before I read it! To be honest I only read it now because a friend at work kept nagging me to, I'm so glad she did though There was much more to it than the love story that I thought it was all about. I definately will reread this one, and that's something I rarely do.

10/10

 

The Redbreast - Jo Nesbo kindle

I thought it got off to a confusing start, lots of names I couldn't read and jumping to and fro in time, but I persevered and was very happy I did. I really like the Harry Hole character and the story very soon became a real page turner! Thoroughly enjoyed it!

8/10

 

The Wine of Angels - Phil Rickmankindle

I felt like trying something slightly different and this fitted the bill very nicely!

 

Book Description (from Amazon)

The Revd Merrily Watkins had never wanted a picture-postcard parish - or a huge and haunted vicarage. Nor had she particularly wanted to walk straight into a local dispute over a controversial play about a strange seventeeth-century clergyman accused of witchcraft ... a story that certain old-established families would rather remained obscure.

 

But this is Ledwardine, steeped in cider and secrets. A paradise of cobbled streets and timber-framed houses. And also - as Merrily and her teenage daughter Jane discover - a village where horrific murder is a tradition that spans centuries.

 

This is the first book in the Merrily watkins series. Merrily, a widow and single mum to a teenaged daughter, is sent to Ledwardine as vicar-in-charge, where she's not entirely welcomed with open arms.

I thought this story was well written with some great characters, it flowed nicely and I didn't want to put it down. It had a supernatural edge to it which was mixed with folklore and it added to the mystery.

8/10

 

Midwinter of The Spirit - Phil Rickman kindle

Book Description (from Amazon)

 

'They'll follow you home...breathe down your phone at night...a prime target for every psychotic grinder of the dark satanic mills that ever sacrificed a chicken...' Diocesan Exorcist: a job viewed by the Church of England with such extreme suspicion that they changed the name. It's Deliverance Consultant now. Still, it seems, no job for a woman. But when the Bishop offers it to Merrily Watkins, parish priest and single mum, she's in no position to refuse. It starts badly for Merrily and gets no easier. As an early winter slices through the old city of Hereford, a body is found in the River Wye, an ancient church is desecrated and signs of evil appear in the cathedral itself, where the tomb of a medieval saint lies in pieces.

 

The second in the Merrily Watkins series, now she's settled in Ledwardine village as their priest but has also trained to be a 'Delivery consultant' (a modern day exorcist!)

Once again the characters are well written and the atmosphere is excellent, very spine tingling at times

Another fast paced story with folklore, paganism, witchcraft .......!

loved it!!

 

Really enjoyed this 8/10

 

I will be downloading more of this series to my kindle soon, daren't do it yet cause I've got too many books all waiting to be read.

[Kidsmum]

I just got The Redbreast for my birthday Pip so I'm glad you gave it an 8/10. Have you read any others by Jo Nesbo or was this your first ?

 

I've also got Gone with The Wind on my TBR pile so I'm thinking I need to bump it up the list a bit

[bobblybear]

I have Gone With The Wind on my TBR pile too, but I keep reading other 'easier' books first. I really should bump it up on my list, as I haven't heard a single negative thing about it.

[Kylie]

Yes, you should definitely bump it up! While it is a long read, it's not a difficult one at all. Honestly, you'll find the pages just whizzing by so quickly.

[pipread]

I just got The Redbreast for my birthday Pip so I'm glad you gave it an 8/10. Have you read any others by Jo Nesbo or was this your first ?

 

I've also got Gone with The Wind on my TBR pile so I'm thinking I need to bump it up the list a bit

 

 

Hello there, belated birthday greetings to you Don't be put off the start of Redbreast, it's definately worth sticking with! I bet you'll love Gone With the Wind when you to it as well.

 

 

I have Gone With The Wind on my TBR pile too, but I keep reading other 'easier' books first. I really should bump it up on my list, as I haven't heard a single negative thing about it.

 

 

I totally agree with Kylie about Gone With the Wind, you really should try bumping it up the pile! The pages really flew by, it's a great book.

 

 

Yes, you should definitely bump it up! While it is a long read, it's not a difficult one at all. Honestly, you'll find the pages just whizzing by so quickly.

[Ooshie]

I love Gone with the Wind, and am hoping to reread it this year sometime - although the year seems to be whizzing past with new books always being added to my list! I like Jo Nesbo's writing too.

 

The Phil Rickman books seem like something a bit different, which is always good to find.

[pipread]

I love Gone with the Wind, and am hoping to reread it this year sometime - although the year seems to be whizzing past with new books always being added to my list! I like Jo Nesbo's writing too.

 

The Phil Rickman books seem like something a bit different, which is always good to find.

 

 

I know what you mean about the time whizzing by, it's definately a case of 'so many books but so little time!

 

Phil Rickman's definately worth a try, I have only read the two I mentioned but I look forward to reading more in that series.

[pipread]

The Help - Kathryn Stockett

 

Book description (from Amazon)

Jackson, Mississippi, 1962. Black maids raise white children, but aren’t trusted not to steal the silver. Some lines will never be crossed. Aibileen is a black maid: smart, regal, and raising her seventeenth white child. Yet something shifted inside Aibileen the day her own son died while his bosses looked the other way. Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is by some way the sassiest woman in Mississippi. But even her extraordinary cooking won’t protect Minny from the consequences of her tongue. Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter returns home with a degree and a head full of hope, but her mother will not be happy until there’s a ring on her finger. Seeking solace with Constantine, the beloved maid who raised her, Skeeter finds she has gone. But why will no one tell her where? Seemingly as different as can be, Skeeter, Aibileen and Minny’s lives converge over a clandestine project that will not only put them all at risk but also change the town of Jackson for ever. But why? And for what? The Help is a deeply moving, timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we won’t. Itis about how women, whether mothers or daughters, the help or the boss, relate to each other – and that terrible feeling that those who look after your children may understand them, even love them, better than you . . .

 

I read this book in a couple of days, I didn't want to put it down because it was so good. The characters were so well written they were brought to life and stayed with me even when I finished reading the book. I laughed and cried whilst reading it.

I'd highly recommend The Help.

9/10

[pipread]

An update on the books I've read since I was last here!

 

Nemisis - Jo Nesbo

 

Book Descriptionfrom Amazon

Grainy CCTV footage shows a man walking into a bank and putting a gun to a cashier's head. He tells her to count to twenty-five. When he doesn’t get his money in time, she is executed. Detective Harry Hole is assigned to the case.

 

 

While Harry’s girlfriend is away in Russia, an old flame gets in touch. He goes to dinner at her house and wakes up at home with no memory of the past twelve hours. The same morning the girl is found shot dead in her bed. Then Harry begins to receive threatening e-mails. Is someone trying to frame him for this unexplained death? Meanwhile the bank robberies continue with unparalleled savagery.

 

 

Gripping and surprising, Nemesis is a thriller by one of the biggest stars of Scandinavian crime fiction.

 

 

 

 

I really enjoyed this follow up to The Redbreast, plenty of twists and turns to keep me guessing and I think Harry Hole is a brilliant character.

8/10

 

 

The Devils Star - Jo Nesbo

 

Book Descriptionfrom Amazon

A young woman is murdered in her Oslo flat. One finger has been severed from her left hand, and behind her eyelid is secreted a tiny red diamond in the shape of a five-pointed star – a pentagram, the devil’s star.

 

 

Detective Harry Hole is assigned to the case with his long-time adversary Tom Waaler and initially wants no part in it. But Harry is already on notice to quit the force and is left with little alternative but to drag himself out of his alcoholic stupor and get to work.

 

 

A wave of similar murders is on the horizon. An emerging pattern suggests that Oslo has a serial killer on its hands, and the five-pointed devil’s star is key to solving the riddle.

 

Once again really enjoyed this the 3rd in the Harry Hole series. A gripping thriller with plenty of twists to keep me guessing. This book ties up some of the loose ends from the 1st 2 books, so best read in order!

I'm looking forward to reading more from Jo Nesbo.

9/10

 

 

 

Carved in Bone - Jefferson Bass

 

 

Book Descriptionfrom Amazon

A woman's corpse lies hidden in a cave in the mountains of East Tennessee. Undiscovered for thirty years, her body has been transformed into a near-perfect mummy. Clueless, the local police enlist the help of Dr Bill Brockton, renowned anthropologist and founder of the University of Tennessee's Anthropology Research Facility - the Body Farm - where human corpses are left to the elements, and every manner of decay is fully explored for the sake of science and the cause of justice. The body has been found in Cooke County, a remote community that's clannish, insular and distrustful of outsiders. When Brockton's autopsy discloses an explosive secret, old wounds are reopened and feuds rekindled. As the powerful and uncooperative sheriff and his inept deputy threaten to derail Brockton's investigations, even Brockton, after years surrounded by death and decay, is baffled by this case unfolding in a unique environment, where nothing is quite what it seems.

 

A quick easy mystery, with plenty of twists in it, lots of bodies as well so not for the squeamish.

7/10

 

 

Before I Go To Sleep - S J Watson

 

Book Descriptionfrom Amazon

'As I sleep, my mind will erase everything I did today. I will wake up tomorrow as I did this morning. Thinking I'm still a child. Thinking I have a whole lifetime of choice ahead of me ...'

 

An excellent psychological thriller, couldn't put it down!

9/10

 

 

Red Leaves - Thomas H CookFrom the Inside Flap

Eric Moore has reason to be happy. He has a prosperous

business, a comfortable home, a stable family life in a quiet town. Then,

on an ordinary night, his teenage son Keith is asked to babysit Amy

Giordano, the eight-year-old daughter of a neighbouring family. The next

morning Amy is missing.

Suddenly Eric is one of the stricken parents he has seen on television,

professing faith in his child's innocence. As the police investigation

increasingly focuses on Keith, Eric must counsel his son, find him a

lawyer, protect him from the community's steadily growing suspicion.

 

Except that Eric is not so sure his son is innocent.

 

 

This is the first book I've read by this author infact I hadn't even heard of him before! I only downloaded Red Leaves because it had such a good review on here.

I thought it was absolutely amazing, beautifully written and very believable. The book looks at the impact a young girls disappearance has on the family of the teenage boy who is under suspicion of taking her.

I read this in a day, I couldn't put it down because I was desperate to know how it turned out. I'll definately be looking for more from this author.

10/10

Edited October 25, 2011 by pipread

[pipread]

Also read in 2011

 

The Redeemer - Jo Nesbo enjoyed this.

Rosemary's Baby - Ira Levin a good, quick, rather chilling story!

The Stepford Wives - Ira Levin another quick, easy read.

The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman didn't think this would be my sort of book, but I was wrong - I loved it!

Wrong Man Running - Alan Hruska an OK thriller.

 

2011

I've read some good books this year I just haven't read as many as I'd hoped! About 33 in all though. Think I'll aim for 50 in 2012.