KN Magazine: Reviews
The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley / Review by Liz Gatterer
THE GOLDEN TRESSES OF THE DEAD
By Alan Bradley
Delecorte Press
$26.00
ISBN 978-0345540027
Publication Date: January 22,20189
Book of the Day
Flavia De Luce is back and cleaver as always. This is the 10th installment by Alan Bradley featuring the precocious prepubescent private investigator, Flavia De Luce. Flavia and her father’s faithful friend (ok – valet, but that didn’t fit the alliteration pattern…) have begun their own professional investigation firm. Case number one: who stuck their finger in Feely’s wedding cake? Or rather, who stuck a severed finger in Feely’s wedding cake?
As ever, this little girl is too smart for her own good. But it is good fun! Bradley’s creation echoes back to Sherlock Holmes without being a tired recreation. If you haven’t read the early novels, you really should. But no worries if you haven’t -each book can stand on its own. Alan Bradley published his first Flavia De Luce novel (which won the Crime Writer’s Dagger Award) as a septuagenarian. Which gives me hope that I still have time to write my great novel.
The Grave's a Fine and Private Place by Alan Bradley / Review by Liz Gatterer
THE GRAVE'S A FINE AND PRIVATE PLACE
By Alan Bradley
Delecorte Press
$26.00
ISBN 978-0345539991
Publication Date: January 30, 2018
Book of the Day
Flavia de Luce is the absolutely spellbinding, precocious, 12-year-old, British, sleuth that has stolen my heart. She may have even roosted Hermione Granger from the position of "the girl I most wish I could have been". I began to read The Grave's a Fine and Private Place by Alan Bradley, which is actually the ninth book in the series, and was hooked. I subsequently purchased the first 8 books and have binge read/listened my way through all of them in less than a week. These are not quick reads, mind you, but sometimes sleepless nights and take-out dinners for the family are the prices one must pay to satisfy an obsession (and possibly I needed something with a little more "sweetness" as I had just finished re-reading It by Stephen King). But, back to Flavia.
Flavia is the youngest daughter of the recently deceased Laurence de Luce. Having lost her mother as an infant and now in mourning for her beloved father, she has decided life is no longer worth living and has plans to end it all while on a boat trip with her loathsome older sisters and Dogger, the families' faithful factotum. But she is brought out of her malaise when she, literally, fishes a corpse out of the river. Absently trailing her fingers in the water she hooks her fingers into the mouth of the floating remains and in her absolutely practical and unflustered way, she simply informs Dogger that "we'd best make for the pier." With Dogger off to fetch the police and her sister evacuating the contents of her stomach, Flavia begins her examination of the body. Without the slightest qualm, she searches the body and collects what evidence she can, (obviously she cannot conduct a PROPER post-mortem on the river bank!) and then with her endless knowledge of poisons, she deduces the likely cause of death. The eyeballs smell of apples, so it must be cyanide, of course. And that is just the beginning...
What first intrigued me about the series was that it is not categorized as a children's book or Young Adult and yet the protagonist is a young girl living in 1950's England. What I discovered was a cleverly conceived character that is a combination of Hermione Granger, Sherlock Holmes, Temperance Brennen (the television version) and a bit of Elizabeth Bennet. Mr. Bradley's style of writing is quick-witted, fact-laden and extremely fun to read. Although a Canadian that had actually never stepped foot in England until after he had won the Crime Writer's Debut Dagger Award for the first Flavia de Luce novel, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, he perfectly captures what is, to me at least, that quintessentially British cadence that authors like Lewis Carrol or Terry Pratchett are known for. I can see why this isn't necessarily a "kid's" book, although it speaks to the kid in me. Overall it is a wonderful series for most ages.
"Roots: The Saga of an American Family" by Alex Haley / Reviewed by Clay Stafford
Like most of Americans in the 1970s, I was riveted to the mini-series “Roots.” Also probably like most Americans, I had never read the book even though “Roots” by Alex Haley had won the Pulitzer Prize. That changed last night.
I finished “Roots,” all 688 pages in my hardcover version, though some editions go over 899. I was blown away. Comparing my memories of the mini-series (of which, frankly, there have never been any better unless it was arguably “The Thornbirds” or “Winds of War”), the filmed version (which had 37 Emmy Award nominations – winning nine – among others) does little justice to the novel itself. Translated: the book is better. That should tell you how good the book is.
Getting the controversy aside: There were charges and settlements of plagiarism along with accusations of sloppy and untraceable research against Haley following publication. I’m including this not as a muckraker, but – if I don’t – someone will post this background in the comments section for me as if the rest of us didn’t know and the questionable accusations unto themselves could be accepted as fact. Long story short, it may have been a research assistant’s error without proper attribution (who knows). Such things have happened with no knowledge of the writer. This matter was settled out of court, which means someone made a deal and we’re not really sure what that deal was. I take plagiarism and false claims seriously – as do most – which is why most people now consider this book to be a book of fiction versus a biography or nonfiction. I think it an unfortunate black eye.
After reading “Roots,” there were sections I would like to have had more of. I would like to have known what happened to certain characters (black and white) after the narrative moved beyond them. As I read (and this was before I knew of the legal controversies), I wondered that if this information was taken from census polls and public records, why didn’t Haley include what happened to certain individuals after the narrative left them? For the whites, those records would continue to show where they had lived. For the blacks, it would continue to show who owned them or where they were after their freedom. I would have even been happy with the “oh, by the ways” at the end of the book in a wrap-up section if Haley felt that including what happened to these characters in the narrative was disruptive. Didn’t Haley want to know what eventually happened to Kunta Kinte? Last I read of him, he was running after a wagon. What happened to these individuals up to their deaths would be just as easy to discover as what was included about them in their lives. After noting the controversy, it made me wonder – as did others – about the validity of the research. That being the case, we have to look at this (unfortunately like many biographies of today) as a work of fiction.
Let’s make this Elephant-in-the-Living-Room other point over genealogy, as well, and the reason that most of us who aren’t members of the Whatever Whatevers of Some Revolution find those people who view ancestry research as a given fact rather amusing: Not every child is who their mothers say their fathers are. I personally take birth certificates with a grain of salt. Give me blood tests and now DNA, of which you saw little in the 1800 and 1700’s. Nothing to do with genealogy could be anything more than speculative to begin with. ‘Nough said.
So, looking at “Roots” by Alex Haley as a work of fiction…
This book was incredible. It completely opened my eyes on these savage blacks that Europeans rescued from the forests of Africa to bring out of the jungles and try to civilize (isn’t that the misconception). Frankly, I knew of slaves, but never really thought about slaves. Or examined slavery in my own heart or compared it to something in my own experience. I imagine most don’t, including those who say they really do. There is nothing in my life to compare it to. What this book showed me and made me empathize with was a proud and religious people who were taken (as was custom in that part of the world, not just by Europeans, but by other black African tribes and nations, as well) from their homes and families and transported cold-heartedly (in the case of European history) to an unknown world where their pasts, traditions, and sense of who they were was completely denied and suppressed. It showed me a representative story of representative characters who sought nothing more than to just have the choice to walk across a street if they wanted to without having to have a written pass from the massa in order to do it. It showed me the dignity of a previously proud and moral character forced to live in squalor and filth because those who owned him (not putting it in italics because at the time they did own him, just as they might have owned a horse or chicken) viewed him as something less than human. I read “Roots.” I was engrossed in “Roots.” I went to sleep thinking about “Roots.” It is easy to say one is against slavery – which I and most are – but it is another to feel the vileness of it, the indignity of it, the shame of it. I lost sleep over it. Frankly, the treatment of these people made me sick.
To my knowledge, none of my ancestors owned slaves. As far as I know, we were the po’ white crackers the slaves made fun of in the book. But it made me wonder. What is back there in my past? Though I know the skeptic in me will always view my family tree as a work of fiction, it might be worth the contemplation. As abhorrent as I have always viewed slavery, this book actually made me feel it. What else is back there that may shake me to the core?
Until next time, read like someone is burning the books!
Clay Stafford
– Clay Stafford is a husband, father, author / filmmaker (www.ClayStafford.com), business owner (www.AmericanBlackguard.com), and founder of Killer Nashville (www.KillerNashville.com) with over 1.5 million copies of his own books in print in over 14 languages. Stafford’s latest projects are the feature documentary “One of the Miracles” (www.OneOfTheMiracles.com) and the music CD “XO” (www.JefferyDeaverXOMusic.com). Publishers Weekly has named Stafford one of the top 10 Nashville literary leaders playing “an essential role in defining which books become bestsellers” not only in middle-Tennessee, but also extending “beyond the city limits and into the nation’s book culture.” (PW 6/10/13)
Buy the book from the Killer Nashville Bookstore and help support a new generation of writers and readers.
Visit our bookstore for other similar books.
If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join our Facebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.
Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!
"Candlemoth" by R.J. Ellory / Reviewed by Clay Stafford
“Candlemoth” was R.J. Ellory’s first novel, published in 2003 in the U.K. This is its first release in the United States. Since originally publishing “Candlemoth,” Ellory has gone on to become an international bestseller.
“Candlemoth” is set in the American South, which is an interesting choice for a debut novel from an Englishman. Ellory did his research weaving the story of death-row convict Daniel Ford with the events that have taken place over the past 50 turbulent years in the U.S. From reading the book, I’d say Ellory probably knows more about American history than most Americans.
History, though, is not what the story is about. It’s about Ford’s death-row conviction related to the death of Ford’s best friend, Nathan. With the execution date only 30 days away, Ford begins to relive how he got to where he was. It is a story of friendship, betrayal, prejudice, and coming of age. It is a story of murder and the meaning of justice. The central question I had running throughout, of course, was more personal: did Ford really brutally behead his best friend Nathan or was something going to twist in the end? You’ll have to wait until the very end for that answer.
What I loved best about “Candlemoth” is how everything ties together. Historical references are made for which there seems to be no relation to the story, conspiracy theories are introduced that, while interesting, don’t seem to have anything to do with anything. And then, it all blends together and makes sense in a story that is tight, suspenseful, and – most importantly – human. This book is a great start for what has already become a brilliant career.
Clay Stafford
– Clay Stafford is an author / filmmaker (www.ClayStafford.com) and founder of Killer Nashville (www.killernashville.com). He reviews books daily for Killer Nashville’s Book of the Day. Publishers Weekly has named Stafford and Killer Nashville as one of the top 10 Nashville literary leaders playing “an essential role in defining which books become bestsellers” not only in middle-Tennessee, but also extending “beyond the city limits and into the nation’s book culture.” (PW 6/10/13) Having over 1.5 million copies of his own books in print, Stafford’s latest projects are the feature documentary “One of the Miracles” (www.oneofthemiracles.com) and the music CD “XO” (www.jefferdeaverxomusic.com).
Buy the book from the Killer Nashville Bookstore and help support a new generation of writers and readers.
Visit our bookstore for other similar books.
If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join our Facebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.
Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!
"The Cutting Season" by Attica Locke / Reviewed by Clay Stafford
I enjoy surprise endings and how the murder mystery element is used to bring us into a larger world. It is an African American perspective of Southern history over the last 100 years beginning with a gruesome murder in Louisiana from an author (Locke) attracting the extremely deserved literary spotlight.
Clay Stafford
– Clay Stafford is an author / filmmaker (www.ClayStafford.com) and founder of Killer Nashville (www.killernashville.com). He reviews books daily for Killer Nashville’s Book of the Day. Publishers Weekly has named Stafford and Killer Nashville as one of the top 10 Nashville literary leaders playing “an essential role in defining which books become bestsellers” not only in middle-Tennessee, but also extending “beyond the city limits and into the nation’s book culture.” (PW 6/10/13) Having over 1.5 million copies of his own books in print, Stafford’s latest projects are the feature documentary “One of the Miracles” (www.oneofthemiracles.com) and the music CD “XO” (www.jefferdeaverxomusic.com).
Buy the book from the Killer Nashville Bookstore and help support a new generation of writers and readers.
Visit our bookstore for other similar books.
If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join our Facebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.
Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!
"Rapscallion" by James McGee / Tuesday, May 28, 2013 / Reviewed by Clay Stafford
It’s the early 1800s and espionage is alive and well in jolly old England.
“Rapscallion” by James McGee is the third adventure for Bow Street Runner Matthew Hawkwood and in this installment, without giving too much away, he is to go undercover as a prisoner of war to discover how prisoners are escaping from a floating penitentiary. Posing as an American mercenary fighting for the French, Hawkwood soon learns his assignment is a fate worse than death as he finds himself on a former man-o-war converted into a prison ship. Set first in the hull of the nasty ship where prisoners seem to make their own laws and later in the English backcountry where order and laws do not seem to matter, Hawkwood tries to get to the bottom of a human smuggling operation while continuing the ruse and his life.
I love the dark English portrayal of the Napoleonic time period. The novel reads true. I don’t know that I’ve personally ever read anything quite like it, though the war profiteering scheme does ring familiar in our own time. As Rhett Butler observed, there is more money to be made in the fall of a civilization than in the building of it.
This is definitely a page-turner, especially as we reach the climax; my only problem was I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. If you’re in the mood for a dark historical, this is definitely one to get. It will make you thankful for the simple things, such as a shower or bath.
– Clay Stafford is an author / filmmaker and founder of Killer Nashville. Stafford’s latest projects are the documentary “One of the Miracles” and the music CD “XO”.
Buy the book from the Killer Nashville Bookstore and help support a new generation of writers and readers.
Visit our bookstore for other similar books.
If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join our Facebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.
Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!
"The House of Special Purpose" by John Boyne / Monday, May 13, 2013 / Reviewed by Clay Stafford
If you are looking for a page-turning mixture of suspense and betrayal within a well-executed part love story, part historical epic, and part-tragedy, then “The House of Special Purpose” is a book you must not miss.
New York Times bestselling Irish author John Boyne’s new book “The House of Special Purpose” is one of those alternative history books where I already know the ending, I know where the author is going to go with it, but the storytelling is so good that I want to stay with him through each word to see how he gets there. I could not stop reading and I was not disappointed.
“The House of Special Purpose” concerns itself with Georgy and Zoya and is told through the point-of-view of Georgy, an 82 year-old-man looking back on his life to the central point of the final days of czarist Russia and the reign of the Romanovs. Georgy starts his life as a farmer, becomes a servant and bodyguard in the house of Tsarevich Alexei, son of Tsar Nicholas II, and – after the rise of Marx, Stalin, and Lenin – flees to Paris and then to post-war London. Why he flees is the subject of the book.
“The House of Special Purpose” is immediately riveting, mysterious, and tense with suspense. It is filled with heartlessness and insensitivity, but – at the same time – great love; it has pain, but incredible joy. The humanity of it will leave you crying at the end of the very first chapter.
The main characters of Georgy and Zoya stay under constant threat of discovery for something that they did. Throughout the story, the reader will keep asking, “Why?” This is the spine. Within the pages are secrets that refuse to die highlighted in the struggle for power and self-preservation, which takes form in multiple ways. Particularly real and touching is the portrayal of Zoya and her desire to come to the end of her life. Narrator Georgy is full of flaws and selfishness. The reader will understand his humanity, but at times, his choices are hard to swallow. We like him as we like family. He has a good heart, but sometimes his decisions and actions are less than admirable. People write about authors creating flawed characters; well, here you go: John Boyne has the nerve to actually do it, flawed Georgy certainly is.
I loved the storytelling device of starting at both extremes of Georgy’s life (1981 and 1899, if my calculations are correct) and alternatively working forwards and backwards through the epic chapters until the two timelines meet. Following this structure, we see the parallel stories of Georgy’s life as a young man compared against the wisdom and frailties of old age.
On a side note, I’ve found a new publisher in Other Press. I was blown away by, not only “The House of Special Purpose,” but the titles and the quality of their other works. I encourage you to check out their house at www.otherpress.com.
– Clay Stafford is an author / filmmaker and founder of Killer Nashville. Stafford’s latest projects are the documentary “One of the Miracles” and the music CD “XO”.
Buy the book from the Killer Nashville Bookstore and help support a new generation of writers and readers.
Visit our bookstore for other similar books.
If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join our Facebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.
Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!
"The Watchers: A Secret History of the Reign of Elizabeth I" by Stephen Alford / Monday, March 4, 2013 / Reviewed by Clay Stafford
“Assassinations, espionage, torture, spies, double agents, cryptography, indignities. Page turning. Well-researched. This could be a spy novel, but it’s not; it happened. The Elizabethan world has never been more real to me. For those interested in history or writers of the Elizabethan world, this is a must read.”
– Clay Stafford, author and founder of Killer Nashville
Buy the book from the Killer Nashville Bookstore and help support a new generation of writers and readers.
If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join our Facebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.
Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!
“12.21″ by Dustin Thomason / Friday, November 30, 2012 / Reviewed by Clay Stafford
Today’s featured book is 12.21 by Dustin Thomason.
Read this novel before 12/21/12. After that, it may not be available.
Why Clay Stafford chose this book:
Conspiracy theories and doomsday predictions do nothing for me in real life, but they are great springboards of fiction. The doomsday prediction in the Maya calendar that the world will end on December 21, 2012 is a case-in-point and the backdrop for the exciting pseudo-science thriller from Dustin Thomason, “12.21″ It didn’t help me that my office manager had a sneezing cold and my family had rare steak on the very night I sat down to read a book about the end of the world via prion disease.
Reminds me of a cross between Michael Crichton and Dan Brown. I do enjoy puzzle novels so this was easy for me to get into. Painstakingly historically researched – even more probably historically than medically – if you will allow yourself to suspend disbelief (which you have to in some spots) and ignore coincidences and just going along for the ride, you’ll find it suspenseful and difficult to put down, if not educational regarding the culture of the Maya. It’s a fast ride with the ultimate stakes: the end of civilization.
I’m drawn to books that have unrelated stories (this has two) that come together tidily in the end. You have to give Thomason credit for attempting to intellectually tackle two big subjects intertwined within the same educated, smart book. If you read it, I’m confident you will enjoy it.
Something I did find interesting about this, which has nothing to do with the book, is that the hardcover is $15.09 with free shipping on Amazon and the Kindle Edition is $13.99. For you math geeks, that’s only $1.10 difference. I don’t recall seeing such a small spread before. Not making a judgement either way, is this the start of a new trend in eBook pricing? As a writer, you hope so. As a reader, it gives you pause.
From Amazon:
“From the co-author of the two-million copy mega-bestseller The Rule of Four comes a riveting thriller with a brilliant premise based on the 2012 apocalypse phenomenon – perfect for readers of Steve Berry, Preston and Child, and Dan Brown.
For decades, December 21, 2012, has been a touchstone for doomsayers worldwide. It is the date, they claim, when the ancient Maya calendar predicts the world will end.
In Los Angeles, two weeks before, all is calm. Dr. Gabriel Stanton takes his usual morning bike ride, drops off the dog with his ex-wife, and heads to the lab where he studies incurable prion diseases for the CDC. His first phone call is from a hospital resident who has an urgent case she thinks he needs to see. Meanwhile, Chel Manu, a Guatemalan American researcher at the Getty Museum, is interrupted by a desperate, unwelcome visitor from the black market antiquities trade who thrusts a duffel bag into her hands.
By the end of the day, Stanton, the foremost expert on some of the rarest infections in the world, is grappling with a patient whose every symptom confounds and terrifies him. And Chel, the brightest young star in the field of Maya studies, has possession of an illegal artifact that has miraculously survived the centuries intact: a priceless codex from a lost city of her ancestors. This extraordinary record, written in secret by a royal scribe, seems to hold the answer to her life’s work and to one of history’s great riddles: why the Maya kingdoms vanished overnight. Suddenly it seems that our own civilization might suffer this same fate.
With only days remaining until December 21, 2012, Stanton and Chel must join forces before time runs out.
Advance praise for 12.21
Dustin Thomason, M.D., will invariably be compared to Michael Crichton, M.D., and 12.21 will be favorably compared to The Andromeda Strain. Both authors have written first-rate medical thrillers, the kind of fact-based fiction that is very scary but also very entertaining. Thomason knows his stuff, and it shows on every page. I truly could not put this book down. – Nelson DeMille”
If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join our Facebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.
Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!
– Clay Stafford, Founder of Killer Nashville
“Death of a Schoolgirl” by Joanna Campbell Slan / Tuesday, November 27, 2012 / Reviewed by Clay Stafford
Today’s featured book is Death of a Schoolgirl by Joanna Campbell Slan.
Who would have thought Jane Eyre was such an excellent detective?
Why Clay Stafford chose this book:
Joanna Campbell Slan’s new historical series stars Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre.
“Death of a Schoolgirl,” the first in this historical cozy series, picks up where the classic leaves off. I’m not big on coming-of-age stories (which the original was) and found this definitely more interesting. However, it does pick up where the original story stops, so fans of Jane Eyre will happily devour this, especially since Slan has captured the original voice of Bronte. From the first page, this story quickly pulls you in and Slan wastes no time getting into the meat. I never thought I would read about Jane Eyre getting beaten by thugs, but it does happen. (Beats her fainting on the doorstep of the River’s in the original.)
Jane’s former pupil Adele Varens sends a plea to Jane to come and help. What is at first believed to be a natural death becomes a murder investigation. Slan, best known for her Kiki Lowenstein books, plays fair, dropping clues throughout the novel as to the identity of the killer, but is successful in concealing them until the very end. She’s done an incredible job with the plotting within, what I would consider, to be a character driven novel. One book, the best of both worlds, led by a strong proactive heroine.
It’s always tough to take on an established literary figure. There is always going to be fall-out from devotees. However, I think Slan has done a great job in not only capturing Bronte’s voice, but “Death of a Schoolgirl” is also an excellent example of how to effectively and successfully take on a beloved literary figure.
Whether you’ve read the original or not (whether you like the original or not), if you like historical cozies and light murder, you will enjoy this book. This is a great new series in the making and an incredibly fresh story.
From Amazon:
“In her classic tale, Charlotte Bronte introduced readers to the strong-willed and intelligent Jane Eyre. Picking up where Bronte left off, Jane’s life has settled into a comfortable pattern: She and her beloved Edward Rochester are married and have an infant son. But Jane soon finds herself in the midst of new challenges and threats to those she loves…
Jane can’t help but fret when a letter arrives from Adele Varens – Rochester’s ward, currently at boarding school – warning that the girl’s life is in jeopardy. Although it means leaving her young son and invalid husband, and despite never having been to a city of any size, Jane feels strongly compelled to go to London to ensure Adele’s safety.
But almost from the beginning, Jane’s travels don’t go as planned – she is knocked about and robbed, and no one believes that the plain, unassuming Jane could indeed be the wife of a gentleman; even the school superintendent takes her for an errant new teacher. But most shocking to Jane is the discovery that Adele’s schoolmate has recently passed away under very suspicious circumstances, yet no one appears overly concerned. Taking advantage of the situation, Jane decides to pose as the missing instructor – and soon uncovers several unsavory secrets, which may very well make her the killer’s next target…”
If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join our Facebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.
Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!
– Clay Stafford, Founder of Killer Nashville
“Death in the Floating City” by Tasha Alexander / Wednesday, November 14, 2012 / Reviewed by Clay Stafford
Today’s featured book is Death in the Floating City by Tasha Alexander.
Venice. Cat fights. Ill-fated love. Murder.
Why Clay Stafford chose this book:
With “Death in the Floating City,” Tasha Alexander has written what I think is probably her best book in the seventh installment of the Lady Emily Hargreaves series. Lady Emily and her husband Colin are summoned to help solve the murder of Emily’s childhood associate’s father-in-law. Emily can’t stand her childhood friend. “Exchanging social niceties with Emma was far less pleasant than thinking about murder.” Ouch. The dialogue between these two women is delightful.
I’d put this in a more historical cozy category. It is a light book mixing love and murder in 19th Century Venice. Those who like a little romance with their mystery will love the descriptions of “the Floating City,” the parallel story of the 400 year-old family feud, and the zinger thrown in at the end. I won’t write more because I don’t wish to spoil the plot for those who wish to take the gondola ride. Suffice it to say, if you have not read any of Alexander’s work before, this one would be a grand one to push off with.
From Amazon:
“The Huffington Post calls Tears of Pearl author Tasha Alexander “one to watch – and read” and her new Lady Emily mystery set in Venice proves it!
Years ago, Emily’s childhood nemesis, Emma Callum, scandalized polite society when she eloped to Venice with an Italian count. But now her father-in-law lies murdered, and her husband has vanished. There’s no one Emma can turn to for help but Emily, who leaves at once with her husband, the dashing Colin Hargreaves, for Venice. There, her investigations take her from opulent palazzi to slums, libraries, and bordellos. Emily soon realizes that to solve the present day crime, she must first unravel a centuries old puzzle. But the past does not give up its secrets easily, especially when these revelations might threaten the interests of some very powerful people.”
If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join our Facebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion. For more information on Killer Nashville: A Conference for Thriller, Suspense, Mystery Writers & Literature Lovers go to our website at http://www.killernashville.com.
Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!
– Clay Stafford, Founder of Killer Nashville
“Rebecca” by Daphne Du Maurier / Monday, October 22, 2012 / Reviewed by Clay Stafford
Today’s featured book is Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier.
It’s classic, gothic, romantic suspense at its finest.
Why Clay Stafford chose this book:
“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” One of my absolute favorite opening lines. And the book never takes a downtown. This is classic, gothic, romantic suspense at its finest. Most of you have probably read it, but for those who have not, it is a classic. I won’t belabor the review because I know most have probably read it, but maybe this will inspire you to go to your bookshelf and pull it off for another read. The critics panned it when it came out in 1938 (what do they know?), but it won the National Book Award in that year despite them. After 65 years in publication, in 2003 it was still listed as number 14 on the UK survey of The Big Read. Alfred Hitchcock won an Academy Award for the film version of it in 1940. Just writing about it makes me want to go read it again. If you’ve never read it, add it to your list.
From Amazon:
“With these words, the reader is ushered into an isolated gray stone mansion on the windswept Cornish coast, as the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter recalls the chilling events that transpired as she began her new life as the young bride of a husband she barely knew. For in every corner of every room were phantoms of a time dead but not forgotten – a past devotedly preserved by the sinister housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers: a suite immaculate and untouched, clothing laid out and ready to be worn, but not by any of the great house’s current occupants. With an eerie presentiment of evil tightening her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter walked in the shadow of her mysterious predecessor, determined to uncover the darkest secrets and shattering truths about Maxim’s first wife – the late and hauntingly beautiful Rebecca.
This special edition of Rebecca includes excerpts from Daphne du Maurier’s The Rebecca Notebook and Other Memories, an essay on the real Manderley, du Maurier’s original epilogue to the book, and more.”
If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join ourFacebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.
Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!
– Clay Stafford, Founder of Killer Nashville
“A Sunless Sea: A William Monk Novel” by Anne Perry / Monday, October 8, 2012 / Reviewed by Clay Stafford
Today’s featured book is A Sunless Sea: A William Monk Novel by Anne Perry.
For the brutal murder of one woman, an innocent woman may hang.
Why Clay Stafford chose this book:
Real. That’s the word I would use to describe Anne Perry’s newest novel, “A Sunless Sea.”
The astonishingly consistent author of at least 66 novels, Anne Perry is a staple of many Victorian London mystery fans and the experience of this novel explains why. This is not just a novel; it is a world.
Perry’s use of the River Police is fresh and unique and brings an unusual literary device into play, opening the stage for new characters, settings, dangers, and points-of-view which are intriguing from the first page and carry nonstop throughout the book.
The story centers around the murder of a middle-aged “prostitute” (used loosely in the nineteenth century definition of any kept woman who has intercourse outside of marriage) and is reminiscent of other “sentimental” literature such as “Oliver Twist” and “Mary Barton,” though in context we are more in the world of “Jack the Ripper.” It would be so easy in the context of the novel to go overboard on the gruesome, but instead, Perry chooses it to make it human. The plot brings forth an interesting perspective that I rarely see and that is when the police detective arrests a person who by all accounts is guilty, but the detective doubts her guilt, but must arrest her anyway. That doesn’t keep him – even though his duty is to prosecute – from also attempting to exonerate. Perry handles that complex balance deftly. The beginning was incredible: I was there. Perry explores the delicacy and brutality with equal sensitivity, not only in the portrayal of the victim, but in the relationships of the other characters including Monk (the series’ main character), his wife Hester, their friend Oliver Rathbone, and the turmoil between Rathbone and his wife Margaret.
The characters are believable including the examination of old conflicts between characters. One does not need to read the previous books in the series to become immersed in this one. Perry references previous incidents in the series without being obtrusive. The personal stories transcend all genres. Every page is full of conflict and honest, empathetic emotions.
The dialogue is straight on. The dialogue and accents are so clear I could hear the characters talking in different voices in my head. It is amazing when a writer can pull that off.
Greed, the love of money, and the disrespect of human life outside of one’s own family or personal interests are powerful motivators. Prior to this novel, I was not familiar with the Opium Wars, which are referenced throughout the novel. Taking a diversion and researching that subject on my own, I was struck with the similarity of the greed associated with that and events in our own times. I won’t be specific in my own conclusions, but will allow you to draw your own parallels. Seeing this, though, and comparing it in the context of my own time, gave Perry’s novel a contemporary context and parallel-significance for me, making it all too real.
“A Sunless Sea” is an enthralling story that will weigh on your mind even when you are not reading. The characters are real, their world is real, and I felt a part of them. I hated coming to the last page. Good thing this is a serial because at the end of the book, I was dying for more. Complex characters, elaborate plot, pristine pacing, and unusual environs all make this one of the most flawless mysteries in the Victorian historical genre.
“Many people appeared different in public from the way they might be in private, in the darkness of a backstreet far from where they lived.” Perry doesn’t just write these words, she shows us. In setting and tone, Dickens (one of my favorite and most influential authors of all time) would be proud. Few mystery authors have captivated my interest or imagination as has Anne Perry.
From Amazon:
“Anne Perry’s spellbinding Victorian mysteries, especially those featuring William Monk, have enthralled readers for a generation. The Plain Dealer calls Monk “a marvelously dark, brooding creation” – and, true to form, this new Perry masterpiece is as deceptively deep and twisty as the Thames.
As commander of the River Police, Monk is accustomed to violent death, but the mutilated female body found on Limehouse Pier one chilly December morning moves him with horror and pity. The victim’s name is Zenia Gadney. Her waterfront neighbors can tell him little – only that the same unknown gentleman had visited her once a month for many years. She must be a prostitute, but – described as quiet and kempt – she doesn’t appear to be a fallen woman.
What sinister secrets could have made poor Zenia worth killing? And why does the government keep interfering in Monk’s investigation?
While the public cries out for blood, Monk, his spirited wife, Hester, and their brilliant barrister friend, Oliver Rathbone, search for answers. From dank waterfront alleys to London’s fabulously wealthy West End, the three trail an ice-blooded murderer toward the unbelievable, possibly unprovable truth – and ultimately engage their adversaries in an electric courtroom duel. But unless they can work a miracle, a monumental evil will go unpunished and an innocent person will hang.
Anne Perry has never worn her literary colors with greater distinction than in A Sunless Sea, a heart-pounding novel of intrigue and suspense in which Monk is driven to make the hardest decision of his life.”
If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join ourFacebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.
Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!
– Clay Stafford, Founder of Killer Nashville
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