crime

An Evil Mind by Chris Carter – Book Review

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An Evil Mind by Chris Carter – Book Cover

Are All Chris Carter Books the Same?

I decided that An Evil Mind would be the last Chris Carter book I read; never again in my life. I only read this one so I could say goodbye to the series with a good, scathing review. But why? BUT WHY!?

Well, my friend, because every Robert Hunter story is exactly the same.

Victims drop like flies. Each book features increasingly horrific massacres. The detectives analyze, brainstorm, but they never get anywhere.

And in the end, it always turns out that some entirely average criminal has been weaving these elaborate, time-consuming, and ridiculously complicated plans. And it’s always disappointing when the Hunter books reveal that the GREAT MANIPULATOR is nothing more than, say, an ordinary hater, the ex-girlfriend or maybe poor old Aunt Maggie from next door.

Moreover, if Detective Robert Hunter happens to meet a hot woman who’s a perfect match for him, she’s likely to get killed off before Hunter even has a chance to sweep her off her feet.

But then, dammit, it turns out that the sixth installment in the series, An Evil Mind, is an entirely different story!

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Thin Air by Richard Morgan – Book Review

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Thin Air by Richard Morgan – Book Cover

Genetically Modified Noir on Mars

In 2008, Richard Morgan wrote a book about a genetically modified Martian super-soldier who wins a lottery ticket back to Earth and comes home to do some sleuthing. Ten years later, he wrote another one titled Thin Air, where the protagonist is again a genetically modified super-soldier, but this time he’s investigating the disappearance of the Martian lottery winner – on Mars, several hundred years later.

I’d bet on it, that Morgan captures many of us with his macho protagonist because it’s truly heartwarming to see such a competent, skilled individual at the center of the action, someone who occasionally rips apart those who get in his way during his investigations. But the focus isn’t on the ripping apart, of course – despite a strong emphasis on action, Thin Air is ultimately a crime novel, specifically in the noir sub-genre.

Washed-up protagonist? Check.
Femme fatale? Check.
Nefarious conspiracy in the background? Check.

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Cari Mora by Thomas Harris – Book Review

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Cari Mora by Thomas Harris – Book Cover

Cari Mora isn’t just tough, but sexy too

Thomas Harris’s protagonist, Cari Mora, a former child soldier from Colombia and current Miami Beach hottie, is the caretaker of Pablo Escobar’s old villa. The meticulous and careful Pablo once hid $25 million worth of gold in the mansion. The mafia and a despicable German psychopath, whose hobby is organ trafficking, are both vying for the gold. (Cari Mora has no such plans; she simply wants to be a veterinarian.)

Thomas Harris has returned with a renewed style of novel – as you’ll gather from the blurb. As for why, only God knows, because there was nothing wrong with the old style: The Silence of the Lambs was almost as good in book form as the brilliant film made from it. This new style means the whole thing is a bit flatter and more superficial. And faster-paced – perhaps due to changing reader preferences or maybe because it’s much easier to write a book this way.

Thomas Harris seems to have forgotten how to write a good novel

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The Forbidden Door by Dean Koontz – Book Review

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The Forbidden Door by Dean Koontz – Book Cover

Dean Koontz and Jane Hawk Are Starting to Tire

In The Forbidden Door the fourth book in the series, Jane Hawk continues her battle against a conspiracy at the highest levels of American political and economic life. Our favorite vigilante starts from the unenviable position of being the USA’s number one public enemy. And she’s pretty exhausted.

The same can be said for the initial chapters of Dean Koontz’s book: the writing is undeniably sloppy. The text is dripping with pathos from the very first scene, overflowing with exaggerated positive descriptions of the protagonists.

Then, interestingly, the situation suddenly normalizes, and these anomalies mostly disappear. How did that happen? Who’s ever heard of a book’s beginning being thrown together? Whatever.

Dean Koontz Is Still Aiming for the Nobel Prize in Literature

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One Shot by Lee Child – Book Review

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One Shot by Lee Child – Book Cover

My role model (see Die Trying), Major Jack Reacher, makes his first appearance in One Shot on page 42. How is that possible? I have no idea. Moreover, I thought I had already read this book before. But no, I missed this volume, and that’s great news because in this early installment, the Major is at his best. And of course, so is Lee Child. And naturally, this is the book that was adapted into the cool movie Jack Reacher (IMDb: Jack Reacher) where Tom Cruise does everything to RISE to the role.)

Child’s book is thrilling from the first page.

How can you tell? Well, despite our beloved hero’s late appearance, you find Lee Child’s story unputdownably exciting from the very first page.

Then Reacher barges in and once again sticks his nose into something he shouldn’t. And once again, he’s nosy, impertinent, and unshakeable… And once again, it turns out that things that seem entirely obvious aren’t so obvious after all.

How does Jack Reacher do it? Using the good old Sherlock Holmes method. Things that would mean nothing to you, spark something different in his mind. Things you would immediately declare as black, he flips around and proves to be white.

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The Other Woman by Daniel Silva – Book Review

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The Other Woman by Daniel Silva – Book Cover

Can a spy novel series still hold up when it’s on its 18th installment? That’s the question. I jumped into Daniel Silva’s series around the 7th book mark, and even though critics often label the series as formulaic, there’s something about it that keeps you turning the pages. Once you get past the first 100 pages of any book, you find yourself hooked. And as you get accustomed to the rhythm, a few books down the line, you don’t even need those 100 pages anymore. It’s as if the author becomes more adept at captivating you right from the start. (Even though the basic structure of the stories remains pretty much the same from installment to installment. Quite intriguing, isn’t it?)

Now, The Other Woman is the first book where this formula doesn’t quite click. Obviously, you can’t always pit your protagonist against Arab terrorists who want to blow up this or that capital city; a bit of variety is necessary from time to time. However, the pursuit of a Russian mole within British intelligence seems rather lackluster compared to the series’ earlier, far more significant events. Not to mention that the involvement of the Israeli intelligence agency, and our protagonist, Gabriel Allon, feels somewhat forced in this case, as if the Israelis are being nudged into an unpleasant, stinky mess, saying: “Here you go, guys, it’s our mess, but you clean it up!”

Is it all bad? No, not entirely. The Other Woman feels more like reading a crime novel than a spy thriller. It’s a crime novel that’s occasionally quite thrilling. Even the legendary Kim Philby (that jerk) makes an appearance, much to the delight of long-time spy fiction enthusiasts.

So, there’s no major issue with having a slightly subdued, slower-paced episode with less action mixed into the series.

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The Lion by Nelson DeMille – Book Review

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The Lion by Nelson DeMille - Book Cover

The story of the Libyan terrorist and the Corey couple continues. And even if you missed the previous book by Nelson DeMille, like I did, you won’t feel lost because everything is well explained. The problem, however, is that the beginning of The Lion is mostly from the perspective of the scumbag Asad Khalil, who is an even more fanatical terrorist than the usual breed, and cares about nothing but killing. Seriously. Nothing else.

By about a third of the way through The Lion, you start getting fed up with Khalil indiscriminately slaughtering his remaining enemies from the previous book, as well as his own associates to prevent them from identifying him. This excessive caution is SOMEWHAT contradicted by the fact that the mischievous Khalil calls the police for fun to taunt them. Plus, the police already have a ton of files on him.

On top of that, Khalil even takes on a job from Al Qaeda, although he leaves it for last, after dealing with his personal matters. Sure. („Never mind, Khalil”, his comrades at Al Qaeda might say, „take care of your business, it’s no issue if they start a nationwide manhunt against you, 6-star wanted level. No problemo, we can always detonate our bomb later!” – And these poor Al Qaeda guys don’t even realize Khalil has this aversion to witnesses. Thanks a lot for that kind of help!)

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The Boy in the Headlights by Samuel Bjørk – Book Review

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The Boy in the Headlights by Samuel Bjørk - Book Cover

A Scandinavian crime series that doesn’t release episodes endlessly? Finally, some peace! The protagonist of Samuel Bjørk’s The Boy in the Headlights is severely troubled but otherwise a brilliant detective. The abundance of personal issues is a mandatory foundation for every Scandinavian crime novel, although brilliant detectives are relatively rare among them; they’re more often just diligent and hardworking. Okay, granted, Nesbo’s Harry Hole is genuinely brilliant to some extent, but in return, he’s an alcoholic. Based on all this, it seems that in the case of Scandinavians, intellectual abilities are directly proportional to problems—well, you can imagine what the situation is with poor Mia Krüger.

At the beginning of each episode, the girl is either suspended or undergoing psychiatric treatment. Sometimes, if she feels like it, she wants to slash her wrists, while being a heavy alcoholic too. But she’s likable otherwise. And for some reason, dang it, they always want to fire her from her job. The devil knows why. (However, her boss, the chubby Holger, always defends her.)

The Boy in the Headlights is not your usual template crime novel, that’s for sure; because it would be good if it were! But in this book, you’re bombarded with information from five different threads simultaneously, barely able to keep up, and you feel like you could use some brilliance yourself—because without a razor-sharp mind, you are unable to keep so many characters in mind.

Moreover, these characters in The Boy in the Headlights appear so rarely that you wouldn’t even remember them if your mind, this delicate mechanism, didn’t work with above-average efficiency. But sometimes, damn it, a bunch of unknown figures still pop up! Dum them!

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Perfect Remains by Helen Fields – Book Review

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Perfect Remains by Helen Fields – Book Cover

Well, here we go again, another blonde chick with a psycho-thriller? Which, according to authoritative opinions (primarily my own), is the bottom of the barrel in crime literature. “-Why did you even bother, smarty pants?” Well, because I thought Perfect Remains was just a regular crime thriller.

And indeed, half of Helen Fields’ book is exactly that: Inspector Callanach, exiled from Interpol to Scotland, has plenty of problems dealing with a serial killer and his own French accent.

The investigation starts promisingly, and based on the beginning, you’re sure the inspector will have his hands full with a wicked genius, but the chase for the culprit gradually loses its significance. Lacking ammunition, Fields tries to fill the void with side plots: a colleague’s case takes more space, then some romance pops up, and the inspector’s less-than-glamorous past comes to light.

The weakest parts of the book are the forced conflicts with colleagues, but aside from these few scenes, there’s not much wrong with Perfect Remains… until about halfway through the book, where the style starts to deteriorate, which is most evident during Superintendent Overbeck’s hysterical outbursts… later compounded by the addition of an irremovable amateur profiler, making the pursuit of Dr. King downright laughable and unprofessional. And Helen Fields’ book as well.

Parallel to the investigation, in chapters intended as psychological thrillers, you get a glimpse into Dr. King’s petty and pathetic mind. Evil genius, you say? Yeah, sure! He’s just a simple psychopath afflicted with inferiority complexes, getting himself deeper into trouble with his increasingly grandiose plans. The realistic description of the tortures committed by tricky Dr. King would be better suited for horror movies than crime novels. I wouldn’t be surprised if at the point when Dr. King demonstrates his autodidact knowledge of dentistry, some people would throw Fields’ psycho-thriller out the window in terror.

By the end, the standard of Perfect Remains completely sinks: relatively intelligently written chapters alternate with logical somersaults (the cunning Dr. King bases his plan on an utterly unfounded assumption, which, darn it, works for him) and plot twists akin to shark jumps. When the old acquaintance appears at the “payroll” and also during the pathetic bargaining with the car dealer, it’s you who feels ashamed, deeply so, instead of Helen Fields.

6.5/10

Perfect Remains (D.I. Callanach #1) by Helen Fields
416 pages, Paperback
Published in 2017 by AVON (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.)

Fatal Isles by Maria Adolfsson – Book Reviev

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Fatal Isles by Maria Adolfsson – Book Cover

Oops, another Scandinavian crime novel, and to top it off, written by a blonde chick. What does this most likely mean? Well, that Fatal Isles is a psycho-thriller? More precisely? Whining and whimpering? Well, no, you’re mistaken (at least in this case). Once you successfully get through the opening pages, which dissect the aftermath of an alcohol-fueled night, going into excessive detail, Maria Adolfsson’s novel turns into a pro crime story.

The initial setup, with Karen Hornby, a criminal inspector, sleeping with her jerk boss, is entirely self-serving and could easily be dispensed with; and once the investigation kicks into gear, it won’t hold much significance. Though things get complicated, at least for Karen, as the victim turns out to be the prick boss’s wife. The boss is sidelined, and Karen takes over the investigation.

The setting, the Doggerland archipelago, where British and Scandinavian cultures mingle, seems highly fictional. If geography isn’t your forte, and you were planning to vacation here next year, you might be disappointed. (Your feet might dangle in the water, or those darn wind turbines might drive you nuts…) Your suspicion, however, is cleverly assuaged by the islands’ professional environmental and sociological depiction, which seamlessly integrates into Fatal Isles’ text.

It seems like a good place overall, maybe just finding the machismo in the police force a bit exaggerated. But as a one-time reader, it still affects you because you’d most likely prefer to smack the meddling colleagues with a larger-than-average shovel instead of the patient Karen.

Karen already has a low opinion of herself, and she somewhat harps on the fact that the investigation is progressing slowly. If you were her boss, you’d let her do her job; it’s evident she knows what she’s doing. She conducts her work professionally and conscientiously, and her investigation doesn’t turn into some sort of obsession, like, say, Bosch’s investigations (see Michael Connelly’s The Concrete Blonde).

Karen’s personal life isn’t intrusive either; even if some scenes end up slightly longer than necessary. And because of her past tragedy, which is slowly revealed to keep your curiosity piqued, you’re generally forgiving towards her.

The investigation runs on two tracks, but reading the flashbacks, you can still guess where the resolution might lie. Yet, thanks to the cunning dosing of information, you still manage to get a bit uncertain at times. And in the end, just when you think you know everything, you get quite surprised. Or, well, maybe not you. I, for one, was surprised.

And then, you might even get moved because, it seems, a blonde lady just can’t entirely shed her skin, and by the end of The Fatal Isles, she must include an almost unnecessary, yet emotional closure. But in the case of a fundamentally good crime novel, this can be forgiven. And its effect will surely be nullified in the next installment of Adolfsson’s Doggerland series.

8.1/10

Fatal Isles (Doggerland #1) by Maria Adolfsson
514 pages, Paperback
Published 2021 by Zaffre