Maxwell Marsh - Rogues' Holiday

Rating: 2/5

Review:
Unworthy of Allingham's name

Rogue's Holiday was written by Margery Allingham under a pseudonym to be serialised as a potboiler because she needed the income before her Campion novels began to make sufficient money.  I'm afraid it shows, because there is none of Allingham's later brilliant wit, subtle characterisation or skilful plot development here.  It's a clunky, hackneyed book which I got very fed up with.

The story is of David Blest, a brilliant, handsome young Scotland Yard inspector who, unhappy with the investigation of a death in a Gentleman's Club, takes a couple of weeks' leave on the south coast at the hotel where the man he suspects is staying.  A frankly, silly plot develops: Blest takes less than a day to fall hopelessly in love with a young woman at the hotel, who is not All She Seems.  Naturally, it turns out that the entire business revolves around her, with murder, kidnapping, eccentric wills, sinister outsiders and so on all making their due appearance.  The clichés, remarkable coincidences and unconvincing characters continue to mount, culminating in Blest making a Dangerous Last Minute Dash to save his beloved from the clutches of the Evil Enemy. (I obviously wouldn't dream of spoiling the ending by revealing whether he succeeds.)

I read this because I love Margery Allingham's Campion series, which are fine, superbly written novels.  However, by about half way through Rogue's Holiday I had muttered, "Oh, for heavens' sake" (I paraphrase) so many times that I began to skim, and really didn't feel I was missing much.  I suppose it's right that a book from Allingham's pen should be published, but it's pretty poor and really doesn't do any favours to a genuine great of the genre.  My advice: avoid this and stick to Campion.

(I received an ARC via Netgalley.)

Tim Glencross - Hoffer

Rating: 4/5

Review:
An enjoyable read

I enjoyed Hoffer, although I'm not entirely convinced by it.

The novel is narrated in the first person by Willam Hoffer, a nebulous figure who moves in fashionable London circles, mixing with Society People and the very rich while offering them a sort of vague "consultancy" service.  He seems to be a kind of fixer, who knows a lot of very shady people and can help to negotiate deals, find desirable art and so on.  His past (or some of it) emerges slowly and very skilfully, as his relationship with a Russian billionaire begins to sour and events from his time negotiating with Mexican drug cartels begin to catch up with him and the book develops into a sort of mystery/thriller.

It's well done; Tim Glencross writes very well and Hoffer's slightly cynical, world-weary tone is convincing and sometimes very amusing.  His penetrating descriptions of the world of the rich in London are excellent and there is some real social observation here as well as a building sense of tension and occasional violent and gruesome action.  I found strong echoes of both Evelyn Waugh and of Patricia Highsmith's Ripley and the combination worked very well.

The style and story certainly kept me reading and wanting more, but it did wander into some slightly contrived and inconclusive territory which ended up being rather anticlimactic, I thought.  I don't mind an ambiguous, inconclusive ending at all, but this seemed just a little too unconvincing while leaving an awful lot unresolved. 

Perhaps Tim Glengross is setting this up as the start of a series; if he is I'll certainly read the next one.  Meanwhile, this is a very good, if slightly flawed novel in its own right which I can recommend with some slight caveats as an enjoyable, engrossing read.

(I received an ARC via Netgalley.)

Gerald Seymour - Jericho's War

Rating: 4/5

Review:
Not a Seymour classic

Gerald Seymour is a genuinely great thriller writer with a body of excellent books behind him.  Jericho's War, but it isn't one of his best.

This is classic Seymour territory – a whisper of two High Value Targets in villages in Yemen and a small team assembled slightly on the hop to go in and assassinate them.  We get the histories of the three-man team, the tensions between them and the slow, meticulous details and playing out of the operation.  Indeed, it's such classic Seymour territory that if you have read A Deniable Death you may, as I did, find quite a bit of this slightly familiar.  It's well done in many ways and there is genuine tension and interest, but the middle of the book especially dragged considerably for me.

Part of the problem is that we get the personal stories and internal monologues of a very large number of people: each of the three-man team, two "assets" on the ground, the two targets, a three-man team controlling a drone, the agent controlling the operation, three intelligence officers in Yemen, another three in London…and so on and so on.  It's too much, and the story gets very stodgy in places as a result.  We even get the point of view of an uninvolved camel drover miles from any action – whose apparent irrelevance but detailed history acted as a significant spoiler for me.  It felt as though there was a lot of repetition, too, and I wanted to say "OK, OK – I get it!" rather often.

So – long on atmosphere, setting and characters, but at the expense of good storytelling in too many places.  It's still better than a lot of espionage thrillers because of the quality of the writing and meticulous research, but it could have done with a good deal of trimming and tightening up.  I have rounded 3.5 stars up to 4, but this comes with a qualified recommendation.

Michael Hughes - The Countenance Divine

Rating: 3/5

Review:
Rather a struggle

I struggled with The Countenance Divine.  It's an imaginative and ambitious idea but I didn’t find it sufficiently well done to hold my attention.

The book takes place in four time periods: 1999, 1888, 1777 and 1666, whose numerical characteristics mean that they are apocalyptic moments whose connection gradually becomes apparent.  The chief characters concerned are a computer programmer dealing with the "Millennium Bug," Jack The Ripper, William Blake and John Milton and each section has a feel an language appropriate to its age.  The story and idea emerges pretty slowly and even when the connections and theme began to become apparent, I found it a bit of a slog.  I find it hard to put my finger on exactly why, but the idea never really took hold with me and the different periods and characters never quite came to life.  I found the plodding, featureless prose of the 1999 sections especially hard to take; this is plainly a deliberate stylistic choice, but it seemed to me to be almost amateurish in its effect which made it extra tough going.

I'm sorry not to be more enthusiastic about The Countenance Divine because I applaud its ambition, it is well researched and I have an interest in both Blake and Milton. I have rounded 2.5 up to three stars for these reasons, but I'm afraid it just didn’t do it for me.  Others have fared rather better, but I can't really recommend it, I'm afraid.

(I received an ARC via Netgalley.)

Ali Land - Good Me Bad Me

Rating: 5/5

Review:
An excellent psychological thriller

I thought this was an excellent psychological thriller.  I wasn't sure about it from the description, but it grabbed me from the start and never let me go.

The book is narrated by 15-year-old Mille, who, in the first couple of pages, finally turns her monstrously abusive and murderous mother in to the police.  We get Millie's account of her fostering by a psychologist, his wife and daughter who is Millie's age and who give her a home in the lead-up to her mother's trial.  The story emerges gradually and very skilfully and I wouldn't want to know much more than that before I began the book.  There are a lot of familiar-sounding tropes here: damaged teenage girl, bitchy, bullying schoolmates, survivor guilt and so on, but Ali Land does it all so well that it felt fresh, and the story holds some significant surprises.

Millie's voice is excellently done, so that the whole thing is very readable and I was utterly gripped by it. I thought it was an exciting, intelligent read and I can recommend it very warmly.

(I received an ARC via Netgalley.)

Rob McCarthy - A Handful Of Ashes

Rating: 4/5

Review:
A good thriller

I enjoyed this police/medical thriller.  It has its flaws, but it was exciting and gripping.

Dr. Harry Kent is a junior doctor in London who also works as a Police Medical Examiner.    He is called to certify a suicide which turns out to be murder; the victim is a doctor who reported a colleague to the authorities, and plot develops involving post-operative deaths and hospital cover-ups.  It's a very decent story; it does get a little silly as the denouement approaches and unravels, but I was happy to suspend disbelief sufficiently to enjoy it.    Rob McCarthy writes pretty well (with the occasional slightly clunky moment) and plainly knows what he's talking about – the medical stuff is a real strength of the book, and he unravels it with care and genuine realism.

The two central characters, Harry Kent and his ex-lover, DCI Frankie Noble both have Addiction Issues and, while they are well enough done, it did become a bit much for me as Harry's Personal Journey Into Darkness dominated more than it should have done.  Nonetheless, I found this a gripping and intelligent read and I'll be looking out for the next in the series.

Claire Fuller - Swimming Lessons

Rating: 5/5

Review:
Engaging and very rewarding

I thought this was very good indeed.  I enjoyed Our Endless Numbered Days very much; if anything, Swimming Lessons is better.

This is a novel of character.  The plot doesn't sound all that much: Flora's mother went missing when Flora was 10 years old, and interspersed with Flora's story are letters written by her mother Ingrid, and left randomly in her father's book collection telling the story of her, shall we say, chequered relationship with Gil, Flora's father.  Now she returns to her seaside childhood home where her father has had an accident and is being looked after by her older sister.  What emerges – beautifully – is the effect on all the family of Gil's infidelities and unreliability, and their response to the uncertainty of what happened to Ingrid.

It's really well done.  Claire Fuller writes excellent, clean prose, she creates vivid and completely believable characters whose decencies and flaws are very real and she has a lot of important things to say about the nature of family, of trust and of finding who we really are.  There is also some lovely stuff about reading, books and the importance of the reader among other things, and it's all done with a lovely, straightforward but delicate touch.  Look for the subtle way Fuller uses the floorboard in front of the stove that creaks, for example; it's not important to the plot and is almost invisible, but it is unshowy detail like this which makes the whole thing so intricately rich and believable.  Here are also some great lines, like Ingrid responding to the classic philanderer's "It doesn't mean anything," with "It means something to me!"  Or this little passage when Flora discovers a bookplate in an edition of Moby-Dick: " ' This book belongs to,' Flora read out, 'Sarah Sims.'  The writing was laboured, the pen scoring the paper, and she imagined a young girl, hard-working, her tongue sticking out in concentration.  Under her name, Sarah had added, 'But I don't want it.' "  I loved that - and lots more. 

I found Swimming Lessons involving, readable and very rewarding and I can recommend it very warmly.

(I received an ARC via Netgalley.)

Mario Giordano - Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions

Rating: 3/5

Review:
Slightly disappointing

I expected to enjoy this rather more than I did.  It's not bad, but it could have done with a good deal more focus and a good deal less background and self-conscious quirkiness.

Aunti Poldi is a Bavarian woman who, at the age of about 60, moves back to Sicily to be with her sisters and drink herself to death.  However, a murder mystery and a handsome policeman begin to restore her.  Poldi herself is a real Character – rather too much so, for my taste.  Her "characterful" behaviour became increasingly implausible and eventually rather annoying at times.  Also, the story is slow.  This isn't necessarily a problem, but I found the long digressions into Sicilian culture, customs, geology, history and so on got in the way quite badly; I could really have done without several pages on the history of Sicilian sulphur mining, for example.  When the plot finally comes to a head the climax is ridiculous, with a hopelessly implausible Cornered Killer Climax From Which She Only Narrowly Escapes.  I do realise that this isn't supposed to be particularly realistic, but even making generous allowances for this, it was pretty silly.

It's not a bad book and has it's moments of humour; some of the characters are rather well drawn and we do get a strong sense of place, even if it's overdone at times. However, I found it a bit of a slog and can only give it a rather lukewarm recommendation.  This is the start of a series, but it's not a series I'll be rushing to read., I'm afraid.

(I received an ARC via Netgalley.)

Ali Smith - Autumn

Rating: 5/5

Review: 
Thoughtful, touching and involving

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book.  I liked How To Be Both enough to give this one a go, and I found it very involving and perceptive.

It is hard to say exactly what Autumn is about.  Daniel, aged over 100, is lying largely asleep in a care-home bed in 2016.  32-year-old Elisabeth sits by his bed reading; she was Daniel's neighbour when she was about 10 and formed a strong relationship with him as he imparted his humanity and insight to her.  The book consists of episodes from the past of both characters (and later of Pauline Boty, a founder of the pop-art movement) plus reflections on post Referendum Britain.  It sounds pretty ghastly, but I found it full of humane and perceptive observations and exceptionally good writing, and I became very involved with the characters.

Ali Smith reflects on aspects of life in Britain in 2016 and has important things to say about what may matter in life, how communities and individuals relate to each other, women and sexism and plenty more.  There are some dream sequences which I found a bit tedious (even though they are far better done than most) but apart from them I found the whole thing really gripping, although I find it hard to say why.  It is partly the lovely, distinctive but readable prose, partly the human insight and partly Smith's ability to come up with little gems like, "…I thought about you the whole time.  Even when I wasn't thinking about you, I thought about you."  I love that, and plenty else in the book – like Daniel's invariable greeting "Hello.  What are you reading?" or how beautifully touching the lyrics of a song become because we have had a glimpse of what is behind them.

I'm sure this won't be for everyone, but I'd recommend giving it a try even if you're dubious about it.  If you do find it's for you, it will be a very rewarding, thoughtful and touching read.

Simon Brett - Mrs Pargeter's Public Relations

Rating: 4/5

Review:
very enjoyable

This is a very enjoyable piece of nonsense.  Simon Brett is really good at writing amusing crime mysteries, and this is an good example of what he does so well.

I hadn't read Mrs Pargeter before; she is the shrewd and charming widow of a very successful…er…businessman whose former associates include safe-crackers, getaway drivers and the like.  These associates are fiercely loyal to and protective of Mrs P, who, naturally, has no knowledge of the details of her late husband's enterprises.  Here, she comes across a rather dubious charity and is threatened by people who may wish to expose…er…I mean, spread malicious gossip about the late Mr. P's activities.  

It's an amusing romp which made me laugh out loud occasionally and smile a lot.  Gritty realism, it ain't; there's no grit and precious little realism, but it's very well written, has genuine humour and has a decent, if less-than-believable plot.  I spent a few happy hours in its company and I can recommend it as a witty, enjoyable escape from reality.

(I received an ARC via Netgalley.)

Miranda Emmerson - Miss Treadway and the Field Of Stars

Rating: 3/5

Review:
Disappointing

I expected to like this book a lot, but I'm afraid I found it rather dull.  It tries to make important points about race and diversity in general, but it didn't engage me enough to make them with any force.

The story, set in late 1965 is ostensibly about the disappearance of an actress and the attempts of her dresser (the eponymous Anna Treadway) and the police to locate her.  In fact, it is largely about the characters of the story and lengthy back-stories are rather ploddingly revealed of Anna herself, a West Indian man whom she meets, a Cypriot café-owner, a Northern Irish police sergeant and so on and so on.  It was all reasonably competently done, but I never became involved enough in the characters to care sufficiently so it just got rather boring, I'm afraid.

Part of the problem is the period setting.  I am, sadly, old enough to remember the mid-60s, and this just didn't feel like that time to me.  Again, it wasn't badly done as such; there were only a few anachronisms in speech and nothing stood out as being out of place, but I never got any real sense of period either.  There are some slightly clunky topical references to try to establish the period, but I just never felt that I was there somehow.

This is not an actively bad book by any means.  Miranda Emerson writes decent prose and it's all perfectly competent, but I just couldn't find any real period atmosphere or interest in the characters.  Others have plainly enjoyed this far more than I did, but I can't really recommend it.

Philip Kerr - March Violets

Rating: 3/5

Review:
Readable but flawed

This is a decent detective story and a pretty good read much of the time, but I did have some quite strong reservations.

Bernie Gunther is a private detective in 1936 Berlin; the Nazis are well established in power and the Olympics are about to take place.  Gunther is hired to investigate the theft of some papers and jewels, during which two murders were committed.  It's a good, well plotted story, and the historical background is well done.  I found the period detail convincing and the portraits of people like Goering and Heydrich seemed convincing.  This was enough to keep me interested and largely enjoying the book.

However, I found find the style quite hard to take in places.  Kerr has drawn heavily on Chandler's style in the first person narrative voice, with plenty of one-liners and "hard-boiled" attitudes  Some entire scenes even felt very familiar – Gunther's arrival at the mansion of his rich client bore more than a passing resemblance to the opening of The Big Sleep, for example.  Kerr is a decent writer but he's no Chandler.  The dialogue is over-peppered with smart one-liners from almost everyone, and the "snappy" similes are often terribly laboured and sometimes just nonsensical; "she gave me a smile that was as thin and dubious as the rubber on a secondhand condom", "he was about as cool as a treasure chest in fifty fathoms of water",  "the place was about as quiet as the sap in a gift-wrapped rubber tree" (er…what?) and so on.  It became very wearisome very quickly, as did Gunther's view of women.  Obviously, feminism was not exactly rife in Nazi Berlin, but even allowing for the prevailing attitudes, Gunther is often quite repellently lecherous and also deeply unpleasant about women whom he doesn't find attractive.  I found a needlessly nasty undertone to it.  I also didn’t like a very contrived episode with Gunther in the Dachau Concentration Camp, which seemed unnecessarily exploitative in the context and was crammed with implausibilities.

This was Kerr's first Gunther novel; I will try another because there's enough here to hope that things will improve as he hits his stride, but I can only give March Violets a qualified recommendation.

Colson Whitehead - The Underground Railroad

Rating: 5/5

Review:
Very, very good

I was very impressed with The Underground Railroad.  I expected it to be worthy and rather turgid so I approached it with some trepidation, but I found it very gripping and extremely haunting.

The story is of Cora, a slave born on a Georgia plantation, who escapes.  We follow her journey through different states and get a fascinating (and horrifying) insight into the different laws and practices prevalent in those places.  The novel has slightly dreamlike episodes at times as Whitehead presents the Underground Railroad as a physical entity, but is very, very real much of the time.

There are scenes of utter horror here, some of which will haunt me for a very long time, I suspect, and the monstrous reality of slavery is unflinchingly depicted.  It is all done in quite plain prose and an almost matter-of-fact tone which made what was being described all the more real and terrible for me.  There is also an ever-present sense of threat, conveying with chilling quietness the sense that Cora (and many others) are never safe, no matter how secure their circumstances may seem.  The more repellent attitudes of the time are plain, but we also get a view of the humanity and dignity of those who opposed them.

This is both an account of the reality of a terrible period and also a timely reminder of  what may happen when one group of people begins to regard another group as anything less than their equals in humanity.  I think that this is a book which deserves the praise heaped on it; it is very well written, readable and insightful and it has some very important things to say.  Warmly recommended.