ORIGIN - DAN BROWN

It probably doesn't matrer what I think about Dan Brown because everyone and his dog made pronouncements when this came out, just like they did for the others.
This is one where you have to pay attention to get the gist of what's being revealed/discussed/killed for. The foundation of humans and their need to form religions to justify their existence is the bottom line but I remember I wrote a few years back that a person (one I knew) could only justify his moral standards because he was a Christian, that if he wasn't a Christian he couldn't be moral. Brown says that too and it's a worry.
One of the atrtractions for Brown's stories is that they take place over a very short time frame and I don't have to imagine what Langdon looks like -he always looks like Tom Hanks.
This one is set in Spain and included in the settings is the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. I've seen that, been inside and inspected it, and decided it was a monstrosity. We were convinced it was designed by Gaudi when he was pissed out of his tree one night in a cafe where he drew the outline on a wet serviette with a shaky hand holding a kohl pencil.
I enjoyed the read. Get it from the library.  

THE DESTINY THIEF - RICHARD RUSSO

Some books are a pure pleasure to read and this is one of those. Everyone knows Russo for his past works, notably Empire Falls. My own favourite is Straight Man, one of the funniest books I've ever read. This is a series of long essays and eminently worth reading.

BEING SIMON HAINES - TOM VAUGHAN MACAULY

Simon Haines is a giant fuck-up. I can't think of a better word to describe him. Genius at some things, plays poorly with others, addicted to drink and self-indulgence. I don't know if the law firm employment system used here as a major part of the plot, is used anywhere else, or even if it's real, but the setting is London and maybe that's how they sort the wheat from the chaff, by driving the candidates into the ground and hiring the survivor as a partner. Fast track, yes, but the effect on Simon and his fellow hopefuls is dramatic and probably would be classed as abuse in other circumstances.

The quest for partnership is the large thread but the relationship with his on again-off again girlfriend Sophie says a great deal about his state of mind and forms a contrast to the job thread. Despite his stated loving and caring talk he's more interested in beer. Overall he treats her badly due to his poor interpersonal relationship skills and she took too long to tell him to get stuffed. 

Worth a read but get it from the library. I'll have a look at anything else MacAuly writes beacuse he'll probably get better.       

JOHN CONNOLLY - THE WOMAN IN THE WOODS

You know what you're going to get with John Connolly. He's found a niche and fills it nicely. His daughters, living and dead, speak to him and his associates do bad things. Angel and Louis are by now old friends and if they were missing from the story it would be a lesser tale.
Charlie Parker is one of those damaged people who face the threats from the living, dead and not quite dead with caution and there's plenty of that in this book. He's not so good with women, and he knows it, but has learnt from his mistakes and I'm sure that in some future time he'll settle down, probably not until he's killed the last wraith.
In his trade he tends to come across serial killers regularly and that's good because we all like serial killer stories. We wonder how they'll be caught, that one little foible that will allow identification and resolution. Bad childhoods, not-so-nice entities, crime and parents get the blame.
John is always worth a read and there's a big back catalogue to enjoy. Oh, he does good short stories too.

THE TOY MAKERS - ROBERT DINSDALE

I SEE THAT THIS IS BEING PRAISED ALL OVER THE WORLD FOR IT'S MAGICAL ATMOSPHERE AND HUMAN NARRATIVE, BUT IT IS SO REMINISCENT OF 'MR MAGORIUM'S WONDER EMPORIUM' THAT, FOR ME, THIS STORY WAS OVERSHADOWED BY THAT MOVIE. WAS THERE A BOOK THE MOVIE WAS ADAPTED FROM? I DON'T KNOW.

SURE, DINSDALE HAS QUITE A DIFFERENT ENDING BUT NATALIE PORTMAN HAS SENT A SIMULACRUM. IN FACT, THE FATHER FIGURE REMINDED ME OF THE SANTA CLAUS IN 'SANTA CLAUSE THE MOVIE' - LARGE AND HEAVILY INVOLVED IN MAKING TOYS IN THE MOST ALTRUISTIC OF WAYS. ALSO, HARRY POTTER DID THE 'SMALL ON THE OUTSDIE, BIG ON THE INSIDE' THING IN THE GOBLET OF FIRE.  

NO, IT WAS DISAPPOINTING IN THE END.