The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths

This is a first book by this writer. I came accross it when looking for something to read on a train journey back home having finished the book (the previous review) I took with me when I left home a couple of days before. I went to the bookshop at the train station. The cover was interesting, the name unknown, the title intriguing - I needed to have a closer look.

The deciding factors for buying this novel were the setting of the story in Norfolk and the writer being English. If you look at the list of my favourite authors, you see that only one of them is English. Although just now thinking about it I realized that I need to add one more: Manda Scott - more about pers books later, I think.

I read the book without knowing much at all about the setting in Norfolk. I had spent a holiday once on the Norfolk seaside and been pointed out some dangers there. I had also heard of other dangers. So my mind was predisposed to accept some dangerous situations within that landscape, where the main character's home, with its only two neighbours, is on the road which is "frequently flooded in spring and autumn and often impassable by midwinter", on the edge of the Saltmarsh with "these inhospitable marshlands, these desolate mudflats, this lonely, unrelenting view". The meaning of the landscape and the title of the book are explained early on by the main character Ruth Galloway, a forensic archaeologist, as crossing places "between the land and the sea, or between life and death".

The Saltmarsh and the henge at the crossing place are imaginary. However, there was a real seahenge found in Norfolk and the story has similarities with those real events like protests by druids and locals and the controversy about what to do with the find. The story has a beginning in that imaginary find, with all the main characters being present there. And that is when the first child disappeared. 

The book has a prologue. I find prologues most of the time just plain unneccessary. And so I think it is here. The real beginning in chapter one is really good: "Waking is like rising from the dead. The slow climb out of sleep, shapes appearing out of blackness, the alarm clock ringing like the last trump." The biblical reference did not come to mind immediately: "We shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump." It is, however, really fitting as Ruth's parents are revealed to be Born Again Christians "(capitals obligatory)". Having been brought up by born again christians (small letters obligatory for me) and having been one myself in my distant past I find the way this is written about amusing. (Perhaps, I was born again third time as an atheist. I do not remember any one birth, although I do remember how I became an atheist.)

I like the book, I like the story, I like Ruth Galloway. However, there are some things in the book that I find not quite ringing true. I find some aspects of the murderer difficult; the motive for the notes I find a little far fetched; and Ruth's flight into the marshes I find annoying. I do not quite know what to make of them. They are all so central to the story. I would not know how to make the story work without these things.

All in all I think this is a very good first book.

The Neighbour by Lisa Gardner

It is a sunny Sunday morning. I have done the washing - first thing in the morning. Have to take advantage of the sun and use my own electricity from the pv panels on my roof. I have checked the new water pipes for leaks - found three slow ones. Must let the plumbers know and get them to do whatever they need to do about them. I have made my moves in scrabble. So now it is time to get down to writing about the books I have read in the last month or so. I started yesterday with a book by Jonathan Kellerman. That was a disappointing book. Todays one was not. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. 

I have read so many murder mysteries that I get a feeling from very early on in the book about the who and the why and even the how. This does not spoil my enjoyment. It is fun seeing that I am right and even more enjoyable when there are some surprises. In this book some things I got right, but there were some surprises also. I got really involved with the main characters. When towards the end one of them seemed to be losing faith with the other, I kept thinking "oh, no, don't believe that bastard" and then sighed in relief when per did not.

This book by Lisa Gardner, like the others I have read, has a central theme of family relationships, good and bad. Its about difficulty in trusting after being badly damaged. It is hopeful and yet so very sad. One character has appeared before in another book. I got that quite early on and was so pleased about meeting per again.

Lisa Gardner gets better with every book I read by per. This novel is well written. The characters are believable and the storyline is exciting but also very sad.The ending is a bit shocking. However, it does feel right although it makes me sad to think that that is how it had to end. There is much hope for the next generation. And that is how it should be. We all have to hope that in this life of ours the next generation will get things right and have a better life.

Compulsion by Jonathan Kellerman

Something strange happening here, you say. The writer is male. Yes, this is the third ever male writer appearing in my blog. I read very few books by men. And I avoid buying any books written by men. I read them, if they happen to find their way into my hands and if they look interesting enough. So how did it all come to this?

Years ago I was looking for a book by one of my favourite writers. Could I find one? No!!! It seemed to me that the whole bookshop was full of books written by men. I thought that the situation was really bad. This will not do. Urgent action was required. And so to my campaign to make more books by women available in all the shops by avoiding any books written by men. Clever campaign, ain't it! :)

Long before my boycott I read all kinds of books by all kinds of writers. I read quite a few books by Jonathan Kellerman. And I enjoyed them very much. So when this new novel by per found its way to my hands, I was quite pleased and started reading it eagerly putting aside my other books.

Jonathan Kellerman writes psychological murder mysteries. Pers books are said on the cover of this book to be "first-class". "Kellerman has shaped the psychological mystery novel into an art form". Well, I think this last one does not measure up. I was disappointed. The storyline seems contrived and the characters just do not mesh together. The reason for Alex Delaware's involvement in the case seems very spurious. Per is not rooted in pers own life in this novel, but just floats around always ready and willing to help pers police friend, another main character. Seems to me that Jonathan Kellerman has dried up. Looking at the list of novels per has written, more or less one a year since 1985, a thought that perhaps Jonathan needs a break from writing comes to mind. Don't force it just for the sake of getting out a book a year. It is not worth it.