SUMMERTIME AND THE READING IS EASY ........
C.J. Tudor: The Chalk Man, 9780718187439, Michael Joseph/Penguin Random House UK, hardback German: Der Kreidemann, Goldmann Verlag)
I enjoyed this very English unbloody mystery; unexpected revelations kept me hooked until the very last page.
When twelve
year old Eddie Adams witnesses a terrible accident at a fair, his teacher Mr.
Halloran is there at the scene and takes him and the
victim, a young woman under his wings . Soon Eddie’s gang - Metal Mickey, Fat
Gav, Hoppo and Nicky, the only girl - baptize Mr. Halloran “The Chalk Man”
after he gave Eddie the brilliant idea for a game, to leave secret messages in
chalk for one another. This proves great
fun until the chalk drawings lead to a corpse of a badly mutilated girl causing terror
in their little village and overshadowing their friendship forever. Told from
Eddie’s perspective in a very unagitated language switching between present and
past events of 20 years , layer by layer many secrets come to light. When the adult gang receives another set of
chalk drawings in the form of a letter dropped in their mail box, the past
starts to catch up with them and their individual secrets.
Cristina Alger: The Banker’s Wife, 9780525538486, Putnam/Penguin Random House US, paperback
Three
strong female protagonists are at the center of this thriller set in the
financial world of ruthless Swiss bankers and offshore banks.
Annabel is the wife of Matthew Lerner whose sudden death in a plane crash over the Alps leaves her facing the facts that her husband might have held more secrets than she thought possible in his job for Swiss United, a dangerous, powerful banking cartel. Marian Tourneau, investigative journalist, engaged to Grant Ellis, the son of an ultra-rich New York banking family, is shocked to learn of the mysterious death of her boss Duncan who was working on a secret story about the illegal money laundering by high caliber individuals. She agrees to continue the investigation Duncan started when a secret caller offers here a USB stick with explosive material originally intended for Duncan. When Zoe, Matthew Lerner’s assistant delivers his laptop to Annabel containing secret financial data, their lives are put in immediate danger.
This thriller is fast paced, at times predictable borrowing heavily from recent events in the financial world. But it has enough twists and turns to make it a satisfying thriller pulling all three storylines eventually together. The ending however was far too sugar coated and Hollywood like for my taste.
Annabel is the wife of Matthew Lerner whose sudden death in a plane crash over the Alps leaves her facing the facts that her husband might have held more secrets than she thought possible in his job for Swiss United, a dangerous, powerful banking cartel. Marian Tourneau, investigative journalist, engaged to Grant Ellis, the son of an ultra-rich New York banking family, is shocked to learn of the mysterious death of her boss Duncan who was working on a secret story about the illegal money laundering by high caliber individuals. She agrees to continue the investigation Duncan started when a secret caller offers here a USB stick with explosive material originally intended for Duncan. When Zoe, Matthew Lerner’s assistant delivers his laptop to Annabel containing secret financial data, their lives are put in immediate danger.
This thriller is fast paced, at times predictable borrowing heavily from recent events in the financial world. But it has enough twists and turns to make it a satisfying thriller pulling all three storylines eventually together. The ending however was far too sugar coated and Hollywood like for my taste.
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