Good fun read – The Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud

Just finished Julia Navarro's The Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud.

In similar vein to The DaVinci Code - this book is a historical thriller with the subject matter the Turin Shroud.

The book starts with a strange fire and death at the Cathedral of Turin which brings in Italy’s Art Crimes Department to investigate.

It is a good fast paced fun page turner that interweaves the present and past, cris- crossing periods from the Byzantium to the Crusades.

Gotta say I love a good story involving knights, especially the Knights of Templar – which DaVinci Code also delves into.

Navarro is most effective when telling the story of the shroud from the death of Jesus through to the 14th century. Whereas the contemporary characters sometimes err on the side of the implausible – such as the character of Sophia Galloni. Really what is it with writers who create characters who are not only beautiful, smart but also hold PhDs? Please I know it’s fiction, but give me break!

The most dissatisfying part of the book is the ending – which wraps up quite too abruptly and quickly with one of the main character relegated to almost a footnote.

Improvement but undecided - Patricia Cornwell's Scarpetta

Ever since finishing Cornwell's Predator in disgust I vowed never to be sucked in and read another Cornwell Scapetta novel again. Ever.

Marc Ruby's review of Predator says it all. Plus the really short chapters annoyed me - I couldn't work out if whether Cornwell was trying something new for the hell of it or cos she thought it would help build any suspense or anything.

Well, never say never!

Just finished the latest Scarpetta. Good news is that it is an improvement, but bad news is that I'm not sure it matters anymore. The suspense and thrills just aren't there and the red herrings a little too obvious.

More problematic is that mid way through the book, and it takes her half the book to get the main characters together, you kind of lose track of why you care about the murder and who did it! Also the villian is just sooo obvious, oh from about page 3, it's hard not to think - c'mon that's it?? Oh yeah call me cynical but happy families ending struck such a false note to it all.

I just get the feeeling Cornwell doesn't know what to do with her characters anymore and so just keeps inventing these rather contrived stories. It seems every new book, Kay Scapetta has a new job or moved to new state. I think it is time to gracefully let them retire.

While I've got the claws out - the back cover of my version has a pretty scarry picture of Cornwell. Three words - "major plastic surgery". Actually let me add two more - "gone crazy".

Good Holiday Read – The Forgotten Garden

Kate Morton's The Forgotten Garden is a good fun holiday read. A page turner with good mix of romance, fairytale and mystery. Bit like Dianne Setterfield's The Thirteen Tale, but perhaps not as successful as Morton’s book tried to cover too much ground in terms of all these different elements.

Reading it made me think of the way authors use the narrative device of alternating timelines for each chapter. Morton uses this device to drive the narrative, but I found at some points in the book it was done a little too obviously and with a real lack of subtleness.

I was sorely disappointed in Phillipa Gregory’s The Other Queen, which alternates between three different narrators. I just couldn’t get into it. Call me old fashion but where is the story telling skill involved?

One author who is does the alternating timelines/chapter device brilliantly is Frederick Forsyth. In his books the narrative often swing back and forth between timeframes, but he uses this device with such skill and subtlety. Forsyth builds his narrative the connections between these different time frames in such a deliberate and carefully crafted manner.

Just finished Icon which is a masterclass in story telling.

Crime reading spree....

Been a while since my last post - due to combination of work and holidays, but don't worry I have been reading!

Doing some serious criminal fiction the past month - it's a crime reading spree. Some recommended reads include:

The First Fingerprint - Xavier-Marie Bonnot. Great crime thriller set in Marseille and follows the hunt for a serial killer with Commandant Michel de Palma. I love the way Bonnot makes Marseille a character in the novel, with his wonderful descriptions of the city and its inhabitants. There is a nice twist which I didn't see coming and also by the end you actually care about the characters too. Here's hoping for more adventures of Commandant de aPalm!!

Gone to Ground - John Harvey. British crime procedural that has two great lead characters - Will Grayson and Helen Walker. Their relationship and committment to solving crimes and each other makes the book worth reading. Nicely done. Am off to find Harvey's other books.

Historical fiction - The Virgin's Lover

Just finished Phillipa Gregory's The Virgin's Lover.

Fascinating read. I'm a big fan of this period of history - the Tudor period (1485 and 1603,). There is really is nothing like escaping to a period with a virgin queens, treason, murder and lots and lots of horse riding!

I'm finding a real satisfaction and enjoyment with historical fiction at the moment.

The characters in this book are especially well drawn and believable. Gregory is able to bring out the ambivalence of the men who supported Elizabeth have towards her as the 'weaker' sex.

I loved the character of William Cecil - uber machiavellian political adviser. Scary thing is that he would slot perfectly into a ministerial adviser role in government today!

Will most likely read Gregory's other books in her Tudor series:

• The Other Boleyn Girl
• The Queen's Fool
• The Constant Princess
• The Boleyn Inheritance
• The Other Queen
  

Side bar: Dance Your PhD winner announced - this is hilarious! And who said a PhD was all hard work? Too bad the competition was limited to the science, just imagine what you could with humanities topics!