Robert Galbraith: Career of Evil, 9780751563597, Sphere, paperback

Robert Galbraith is the pseudonym JK Rowling uses to write her detective

novels, featuring Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott, his detective assistant.  I had not read any of the previous two novels preceding this one and decided to check out the third book in the series, taking the thriller on holiday with me. It did not provide the entertainment I hoped for, the book is unnecessarily long winded in my view, an overstuffed sofa according to a reviewer in the Guardian which sums it up perfectly.

The book begins by a severed leg of a women being delivered by  courier to Robin at the agency. Cormoran can remember three men in his life who could be crazy enough to commit such an unspeakable act wishing him harm. Two he met during his days as a police officer in the army, one he had the misfortune to spend his coming of age years with, Whittaker, the creepy partner of his mother, once a famous rock groupie to many rock stars but a drug addict in the end thanks to Whittaker’s influence.  Cormoran and Robin start their investigative hunt delving into the lives of these three men. Throughout the novel, the voice of an anonymous person who is clearly the perpetrator, adds bile to the book. I found the subject of severed limbs, pedophiles, deranged people who are afflicted with an illness wishing to be amputated or having a body part removed ,  their discussions on websites disturbing reading. Several times I thought of quitting, also because I felt the book dragged on too much and could have been edited down, but decided to persevere as I wanted to find out who of the three suspects was the one committing the crime. 

Another string running through the novel are  Robin's doubts about her upcoming marriage, whether to marry her long time fiancé Matthew and her and Cormoran’s changing feelings towards another, the boss-employee relationship is evaporating and developing into much more but none of them seem to have the nerve at this stage to confront their feelings.

"Career of Evil" did nothing for me, I did not become a fan of JR Rowling’s detective novels; this will be my one and only one. 

Nicholas Searle: The Good Liar, 9780241206935, Viking Penguin, Penguin Random House UK

Viking Penguin advertises Nicholas Searle’s “The good liar” as their psychological thriller of 2016. I would not go as far as that but is  a pretty good read if you get over the dislike for the main character, Roy Courtnay which I could not in the beginning.

I hated this son of a bitch from the start; he is a real piece of work, a slime bag, out on the make for wealthy, lonely widows, planning to not only steal their hearts but naturally also their fortune.   The book opens up with Roy dating Betty, the widow of an academic who is looking for a new partner, still quite attractive, a woman accustomed to provide a comfortable life for the right man. Or so it seems.  Before you know it, Roy has moved in with Betty scheming when to make his next move with the help of his side kick Vincent. Her family watches him suspiciously. I found the beginning a bit boring but please stay with it – it all comes together in the end.

Flashbacks to Roy’s life in 1973, 1963, 1957 and 1946. Told in retrospect, fascinating chapters of Roy’s life are opened and leave no doubt; here is a man who has lied his entire life, making a living from being a conman. My dislike of him grew with the number of pages I read, stories unfolding of the lives he destroyed, his lack of conscience and clever scheming, occasionally meeting his own master, like in Lord Stanbroke for example.  The book becomes more intriguing as you go along but really begins to gather speed from page 176 onwards. It is the year 1938 in Berlin, the Nazi’s are on the rise and a boy called Hans and his socialist father Konrad Taub visit the wealthy Schröder family, landowners with 3 daughters, Charlotte, Hannelore, Lili being the youngest.

Anything I would reveal about the story from now on  would give up clues about the direction this novel might be taking.  I sensed the ending but it did not spoil the rest of the book, confirming some shocking developments I had guessed but surprising me with other turns the novel took. The last few pages I personally found a little weak, the thriller becomes more interesting as details of Roy’s and Betty’s past are uncovered. 

Erica Jong:  Fear of dying, 9781782117483, Canongate, paperback

Erica Jong is better known for her “Fear of Flying” which sold millions of copies all over the world in 40 languages, she is the creator of the coin word “zipless fuck” – a synonym during the sexual revolution and feminism in the seventies. This tells you my age of course, I read her as a young woman, a must read in those days.

“Fear of dying”, dealing with much more serious subjects, is written with the same sense of humor and light-hearted tone as in “Fear of Flying”. Those of us baby boomers who have either lost parents already or are dealing with very old parents seeing them in the last stages of their lives, can truly identify with this novel. Many times I found I had had similar thought (although this is fiction) but written very obviously based on some autobiographical experiences. Very ancient parents are not the only problem our New York Jewish heroine Vanessa Wonderman encounters.  The whole book is set in a very wealthy New York East Side enclave and has some fabulous Jewish humor. Vanessa’s husband Asher, the love of her life and soulmate she met and married in her forties after some sexually active years as a single, becomes seriously ill just as her parents are declining and dying, he naturally loses all interest in sex recovering from a life threatening illness. Not wanting to give up entirely that part of her life just yet and needing it very much as a life affirmation, Vanessa signs up to a casual encounter online site leading to some very peculiar meetings with men.  At her side with some sobering adivse is her trusted friend Isadora who happens to be the heroine in “Fear of Flying” – very clever Erica Jong!

Glinda, Vanessa’s wild child daughter, is about to present her with the next life change – Vanessa will become a grandmother soon.

Erica Jong’s novel is light-hearted, funny and yet serious, dealing with very heavy

thoughts and changes in life most of us encounter at one point especially after hitting our sixties.  I loved the book, it really struck a chord with me, and 266 pages read quickly. This is Erica Jong in great form, she tackles the big stuff fearlessly and with much humor, and you really feel more positive and alive having read the book. More of it please! 

The German edition is called "Angst vorm Sterben" by S. Fischer Verlag.  

Edithsbookpicks: Donna Leon:The Waters of Eternal Youth, 978178...

Edithsbookpicks: Donna Leon:The Waters of Eternal Youth,  978178...: Donna Leon: The Waters of Eternal Youth,  9781785150753 , Penguin Random House, William Heinemann, 13.99 L Donna Leon has been my ...

Donna Leon: The Waters of Eternal Youth,  9781785150753 , Penguin Random House, William Heinemann, 13.99 L

Donna Leon has been my indulgence for a long time; I adore her best-selling Brunetti mysteries taking a mental trip to Venice every time I read them knowing I am in for a few hours of reading pleasure. I had the great fortune of meeting her personally one time during my years at Penguin; she is such a pleasant person with a twinkle in her eyes and many booksellers I spoke to who had her over for readings reported the same. I tried her non-Brunetti novels but found them not even close in quality to my beloved Brunetti novels.

As with every writer who has been pushing out novels for so many years, there have been better and weaker Brunetti books. “The Water of Eternal Youth”, her latest, is one of the better ones I am happy to report. It was a great joy to return to the book and spend another few entertaining hours reading about Brunetti’s 25^th case!  

When Brunetti is invited to one of his mother- in-laws famous dinners at their grand palazzo, he discovers the dinner has been arranged with a purpose in mind. Contessa Lando-Continui, an old friend of the family, wants Brunetti to re-open an old case, involving her grand-daughter Manuela who nearly drowned as a teenager after falling into one of the canals. She survived after being resuscitated but suffered severe brain damage remaining mentally retarded as a consequence of her injuries, staying trapped in the eternal youth of a 7 year old despite being in her Thirties now.  The Contessa still has serious doubts that everything was done to discover the truth and wants to find out what really happened to her only grandchild.  The police declared the case an accident years ago  believing she fell accidentally into the water. Feeling sympathy for the Contessa and being intrigued at the same time, Brunetti tricks his superior into allowing him to reopen the case and soon finds that not everything rhymes. When Brunetti meets the Contessa to find out about Manuela’s character before the accident, he learns she was an accomplished equestrian and also deathly afraid of water only able to walk in the middle of bridges making sure she never got even close to water’s edge – a nightmare for any Venetian, thus making a suicide or fall a very unlikely scenario. He also learns that the local drunk who rescued Manuela was never interviewed, being considered too demented and drunk to make a stable witness. I do not want to give away too much of the story but smooth and elegantly as ever,  Brunetti sets up his final trap for the one person who can really tell him the truth. 

Daniel Silva: The English Spy, 9780007552344, Harper Collins

I came across Daniel Silva several years ago when working for Penguin Books, he was then a new thriller writer we had just started to publish, Gabriel Allon being the chief protagonist in his novels, art restorer come Israeli spy.  What a great combination I remember thinking.  Daniel Silva has turned into one of the best spy thriller writers in my book and the latest “The English Spy” is no exception, a true page turner keeping you on your toes the duration of 482 pages.

The beginning feels all too familiar - a female former member of the Royal Family is killed in a bomb attack, heavy borrowing from Princess Diana’s fate I thought and in his author notes Silva readily admits to this.  British Intelligence turns to the one man capable of tracking down the killer – legendary spy Gabriel Allon who has no desire to leave his wife who is about to give birth to their twins.  A tour de force of twists and turns begins - the killer responsible for the Royal death is none other than a former IRA bomb specialist who now sells his talents to whoever is willing to pay for them - Eamon Quinn.  Since I had not read the previous two novels, this is the first time I encountered Christopher Keller, also a former IRA fighter,  now working as an assassin to a mafia connected Don in Corsica, Keller has become a friend of Gabriel.  He has a very personal score to settle with Quinn and readily agrees to aid Allon in taking him down and whoever the people are behind employing him.  The English Spy is a fantastic spy thriller set in in England, Ireland, Portugal, France, Corsica, Caribbean, Austria and of course Russia. The only regret I have is that Allon’s art expertise plays no role in this book.

What I particularly enjoy about Silva’s thrillers is that they are so intricately woven that you have to stay very focused reminding yourself constantly where exactly the person now appearing in the plot resurfaced the first time. Secret intelligence facts are always part of his plots, some appear in Silva’s novels years before they are common knowledge, he is obviously very well informed undertaking excellent research. One comes out smarter and more informed about political facts after reading his superb spy thrillers.

Piper publishes him in Germany right now. 

Sam Eastland: Red Icon, 9780571312290, Faber & Faber, UK

During the Frankfurt book fair a few years ago,  a friend at Faber & Faber gave me their proof copy of a then unknown author, Sam Eastland. I took it home, it sat on my reading pile for a while and I eventually started reading “Eye of the Red Tsar” and became an instant fan.

Ever since reading the first of now 6 books, I make sure I read the latest plot spun by Sam Eastland, always starring Pekkala, the former Emerald Eye to the last Russian Tsar and now the most trusted, incorruptible investigator of Stalin. “Eye of the Red Tsar” introduces him  in an unforgettable story of Russian history, the rise of the Bolshevik revolution, the last days of the Tsar family and everyone in their service, Pekkala’s death sentence to life in one of the most terrible Russian gulags, his miracle survival and his rediscovery by Stalin. 

Six books later, in “Red Icon” it is the year 1944. Two Russian soldiers seek refuge in a German church when their tank catches fire during an enemy attack, finding a dead priest in a coffin clutching one of the most priceless Russian Icons, The Shepard.  Pekkala is called in by Stalin to unravel the secret past of the icon soon discovering a band of self-mutilating radicals to whom the icon is worth dying for.

Sam Eastland always weaves a tight thriller, using fact and fiction leaving the reader with more historical understanding after finishing his novels.  “Red Icon” follows in this track; all books are page-turning thrillers for anyone interested in this brutal part of Russia’s 20^th century history. 

In Germany Droemer Knaur publish the books in translation.