FM's
ratings:
1. Premise 8
2. Prose 8
3. Plot 9
4. Characters 9
5. Overall 9
Comments (optional - but try to keep it under
3000 words!)
This is a “Cozy” – “a subgenre of crime
fiction in which sex and violence are downplayed or treated humorously, and the
crime and detection take place in a small, socially intimate community,”
according to Wikipedia. I recently
noticed that the Mystery sections at major book stores such as Barnes and Noble
have set aside an entire, rather large area within the Mystery section for such
novels. One could get the idea that
these are suitable for a very specific demographic – like Romance Novels – but
that would be a mistake. Many of them
are not only very good mysteries, per se, but highly entertaining as well. The humor can be low-key or riotous; this one
is somewhere in between. The title, like
others in the series (“Some Like it Hawk,” “Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon,”
“Cockatiels at Seven,” “Lord of the Wings,”) feature birds with a play on
words spoofing a famous novel. This one is possibly meant to
evoke Agatha Christie’s “Murder with Mirrors.”
The love interest here is brilliantly executed with the heroine thinking
the hero is gay until the last three(!) pages.
It’s no surprise to us; he’s tried to tell her how he feels about her
half a dozen times but keeps getting interrupted by plot twists – screams, dead
bodies, explosions, etc. This is not as
slapstick as it sounds – it’s really quite intelligently done. And we realize at that moment how much we
have come to really care about these characters. (Sniff.)
The hero at one point even shares with his love something her father
revealed about her: “He’s decided that the best thing for you would be to meet
the right guy under circumstances that would allow you to get to know each
other as friends before the possibility of anything else comes up.” And isn’t that good advice for us all? The final chapter is perfection itself, one
of the best conclusions to a mystery I have ever read. Bring on the next in the series!
Here’s the July line-up!
“Fantasy in Death,” by J. D. Robb [7-2]
“Robinson Crusoe,” by Daniel Defoe [7-9]
“The Moonstone,” by Wilkie Collins [7-16]
“The Trouble with Magic,” by Madelyn Alt [7-23]
“Mystery,” by Jonathan Kellerman [7-30]
(As always, if there are any books you’d like to recommend for next month, please do so. Also, if you have already read one on our previous lists, you are invited to send your ratings and or comments for that book!)
FM's
ratings:
1. Premise 8
2. Prose 9
3. Plot 8
4. Characters 8
5. Overall 8
Comments (optional - but try to keep it under
3000 words!)
This is Hawthorne’s fourth novel of the five
that he finished. To my mind, each was
better than the one before; although I haven’t read the first one yet. The last one, “The Marble Faun” was probably
better than this one, but it was much longer and seemed to ramble a bit – not a
feature I particularly like in a novel.
The third one, “The House of Seven Gables” was almost as good as this
one, but I remember thinking the plot was rather weak. The second one, “The Scarlet Letter” was a
disappointment for me after all the hype from the “experts” on literature. The prose, in particular, came off to me as
pretentious. Here, only two years later
in the writing, it is vastly improved, in my humble opinion. There were many of those passages that make
one pause in appreciation, perhaps even re-read for the excellence of
them. The nature of Hawthorne’s writing
doesn’t lend itself to strong character development, but this one manages to
rise a little above the stereotypes more than his other works. The main female character, Zenobia, can’t be
called a heroine, but is captivatingly presented; an interesting study in
conflicted feelings about the woman’s “place” in society. The main premise, people dropping out to join
a commune, was never really as well developed as it might have been. Hawthorne used the word “socialism” to
describe the grand experiment, and that was probably the term in vogue at the
time. But the commune was really an
experiment in “communism” in the truest sense of the word. Hawthorne does depict, very indirectly, the
perhaps inevitable decay and collapse of such a community. And the fact that he had had some experience
with such an experiment in real life is evident. But ultimately, the story is, after all, a
“romance”; a tale of human relationships on the micro scale – unrequited love,
dashed hopes and dreams, and finally, suicide.
I probably would not have gotten around to reading it if Hawthorne had
written twenty novels instead of only five.
But yes, I will read the only one left someday soon so I can have all
five under my belt!
Here’s the July line-up!
“Fantasy in Death,” by J. D. Robb [7-2]
“Robinson Crusoe,” by Daniel Defoe [7-9]
“The Moonstone,” by Wilkie Collins [7-16]
“The Trouble with Magic,” by Madelyn Alt [7-23]
“Mystery,” by Jonathan Kellerman [7-30]
(As always, if there are any books you’d like to recommend for next month, please do so. Also, if you have already read one on our previous lists, you are invited to send your ratings and or comments for that book!)
FM's
ratings:
1. Premise 7
2. Prose 8
3. Plot 6
4. Characters 9
5. Overall 7
Comments (optional - but try to keep it under
3000 words!)
This novel would warrant a higher rating if
not for the extremely slow start. The
first quarter of the book was a setting of the stage, the beginnings of several
sub-plots that had seemingly nothing to do with each other. Yes, the connections were eventually made,
and were even satisfying, but in the meantime the feeling was like watching a
soap opera, not yet familiar with the various characters. Toward the end, there are quite a few very
moving moments; even “tear-jerkers” if you will, now that we care about the
characters. Perhaps if the murder had
happened near the beginning of the story rather than well into it, there would
be more buy-in on the part of the reader.
The book does make me want to try another one by the author, in the
hopes of a better plot and/or a more dynamic premise.
FM's
ratings:
1. Premise 8
2. Prose 9
3. Plot 9
4. Characters 10
5. Overall 9
Comments (optional - but try to keep it under
3000 words!)
MacBride has a distinctive plotting style
that works beautifully for him, but perhaps for no one else. Whereas many novels – mysteries in particular
– skip back and forth between characters or set of characters while developing
a central storyline, the books in this “Logan McRae” series turn that approach
on its head. These novels feature McRae
and company working three or four plotlines simultaneously, skipping between
them instead of characters. Of course,
this is probably a more realistic look at what real cops and inspectors do, and
one might think it makes for a hectic read; but that is part of the story – how
hectic the lives of these public servants really are. And while one might guess that sticking with
the same characters chapter after chapter would get tedious, MacBride solves
that by making the characters endlessly fascinating. The various plotlines focus on some of the
more peculiar and controversial topics that law enforcement encounters. Sexual abuse of children, sadomasochism
gone off the rails, serial rapists; these are the ones featured in this, the
third book of the series. Weaving the
personal life of our hero into the storylines is magnificently done. And the writing style never flags, making for
some of the most truly un-put-downable novels I have read. This is enhanced, for me at least, by the fascinating
Scottish phrasings and colloquialisms used throughout by this Aberdeen-dwelling
author. Example: “’guddling’ – fishing
with the hands by groping under the stones or banks of a stream.” This used in the context of searching a
vehicle for clues to a crime. I love the
Scottish writers for this, and none more than MacBride!
