THE PARIS ARCHITECT - CHARLES BELFOURE

 

An interesting story. The architect concerned, Lucien Bernard, who is proud of his talents and eager to get his career moving ahead, finds himself in the midst of Nazi-occupied Paris. The Nazis, as is their wont, are assiduously  seeking out Jews, confiscating their treasures, and exporting them east to camps. An old friend of the architect asks his assistance to create a hiding place within his house where Jews can hide with little or no chance of being found. Lucien accepts the challenge and designs cavities and the equivalent of priest-holes for the purpose of concealment.  His employer pays him handsomely. There is, of course, a chance that the Nazis will find that Lucien has been helping Jews, something that would result in his immediate execution.

The story of the occupation of Paris is graphically told. I found it very interesting as a frequent visitor to Paris. Highly recommended.

ADAM RESNICK - WILL NOT ATTEND.

 

A man devoted to keeping everyone the fuck away from him for the sake of peace and privacy sets out the tales of those times when, as a kid, he didn't have peace or privacy. Resnick apparently wrote for Letterman. That experience shows with laugh-out-loud stuff when he writes about his psychopathic brothers and strange father, psychopathic brothers not necessarily being the stuff of humour most of the time. His survival in those surroundings creates the basis for most stories.

I have to mention the story about his father picking up the groundsman (could be the janitor) at the boys request and then finding out it wasn't the groundsman after all, just a lookalike, and taking him on a long ride, is classic humour. Highly recommended for humour aficionados and for those with psychopathic brothers, just so you know you're not alone.            

JEFFERY DEAVER

THE SKIN COLLECTOR AND THE KILL ROOM

 

 

After reading The Skin Collector I decided that enough was enough for Lincoln Rhyme. I was tired of the level of forensic evidence needed to resolve a case (the tiny shred of a leaf from a plant that grows in only one front yard in Brooklyn)  and possibly I'd had enough of the 'damaged detective' syndrome so prevalent in crime fiction. Rhyme, of course, is the ultimate damaged detective but Amelia Sachs is crippled with arthritis in her knees and suffers badly when forced to use her legs to chase someone or when she has to kneel to get a clear shot at that same someone.  For the record, Rhyme always gets his man, apart from the mysterious Watchmaker (Clockmaker? Can't remember.) but we know with certainty that eventually, in a future novel, this man will meet his match because Rhyme can outthink anyone.

Not long after reaching the decision to yellow-card Rhyme, I couldn't find anything on the local library shelves to take home and get lost in. There was, however, a new Lincoln Rhyme available which I'd already mentally rejected. Desperate for something to read, I made the girl checking books out hold a gun to my head and order me to take The Kill Room home.

Deaver finally moved the Rhyme novel to somewhere other than that jaded New York apartment with the Fucking Falcon on the window ledge and moved him to a Caribbean island to sort out a hit on a person at a resort who was relaxing in his chair in his hotel room (The Kill Room). The change of location made a huge difference. Rhyme goes for a swim (involuntary) and checks out local food, acts like a human being in his new wheelchair and, surprise, surprise, solves the case. Well done, Jeffrey.

History repeated itself yesterday when a new Katherine Dance novel appeared on a shelf. So far so good but I believe on the basis of the first few pages that someone needs to take Jeffrey's thesaurus away and burn it.     

 

THE LAST TRAIN RIDE

This is mine. A horror story that is actually scary and all about a family frightened away from their holiday by bears but now facing a bigger and deadlier threat. Available from Smashwords.com for a pittance.

POP GOES THE WEASEL - M.J.ARLIDGE

This author is new to me. Based on this story I'd have trouble reading another one. Her language is often stilted and she dips into her thesaurus too much. On top of that she has, like Shakespeare, invented a word. That word is ok. I presume it is pronounced och but I could be wrong. She uses it in the context of  'are you ok?' Hang on, it might be that she couldn't be bothered using the perfectly good word 'okay', or even 'O.K.'   I'm sorry, M.J. but ok is not a word. Looking at your CV and the work you have lined up, you need to avoid English colloquialisms and have your stuff edited by someone better than you use now.