"Exit Music" by Ian Rankin

by Christina Fredin

Ian Rankin’s Exit Music is the final book in his highly popular Detective Inspector Rebus series which has lasted 20 years. While at face value the title seems to be referring to a retiring DI Rebus, the murder of a Russian poet soon provides an intriguing double meaning.

Rankin and his character DI Rebus are old friends. Having been through 20 years together, it is clear Rankin knows his detective and is familiar with his habits both on and off the job. With forced retirement fast approaching, Rebus is anxious to wrap up unsolved cases, find the ones who got away, and come to terms with his famous and long lasting grudge against a former crime lord – Gerald “Big Ger” Cafferty – Rebus’ nemesis in books and years past. While investigating the murder of a Russian poet, Rebus begins connecting more and more strings to Cafferty, fueling his driving need to put Cafferty behind bars as a retirement gift to himself.

As a fan of crime fiction, I found the book an enjoyable read because Rankin is not prone to write graphic violence into his novels. He focuses more on character development and does a commendable job. Granted, a lot of characters appear in the story, making it difficult at times to keep all the storyline connections in their proper place, especially the Russian characters. However, as you delve deeper and deeper into the story, the characters begin to sort themselves out into their proper niches and become encompassed by the greater story.

The only downfall of Exit Music is the ending. Don’t worry, fellow crime fiction readers, I realize giving away the ending is a sin almost worse than murder! However, I feel compelled to warn you that you may encounter an unusual ending to the story… and I will only say it is not what you think. My initial reaction was, “Wha’? You can’t leave it this way, Ian Rankin! It isn’t fair!” and I still haven’t fully recovered.

Despite the ending, I found the book wonderfully entertaining, yet realistic and compelling. I felt sorry to see Rebus being forced out of a job he truly enjoys and has become a part of who he is. It seems the task now lies with his partner, Siobhan Clark, to serve and protect the people of Edinburgh. Retirement seems to be the final destination of DI Rebus…or is it?

"Laced" by Carol Higgins Clark

by Adrienne Kelsey

So here's what happened ...

I'm at work rushing to grab all my things before I leave for my doctors appointment which I'm already late for. As I'm almost one foot outside the door I realize I may need some reading material just in case my doctor is really late. Where do I turn ... the pile of crime fiction books waiting to be read on a table beside my desk.

You might be thinking "but I thought she said in her last blog that she gave up on crime fiction books because they're too scary (big sissy ;-))".

Well, after reading the back cover of this one, it seemed pretty low key so I thought I'd give it a shot. Good for me!

And am I ever glad that I did. This book is a great read! Let me give you a little description on what it's about:

At the start of Clark's light-hearted 10th Regan Reilly mystery (after 2006's Hitched), newlyweds Regan, a PI, and Jack Reilly, head of the Major Case Squad in New York City, are anticipating an idyllic honeymoon in western Ireland. But their hopes of tranquility are soon dashed. Early the first morning at their hotel, Hennessy Castle, Regan wakes up and thinks she sees a ghost out their window; the next moment a fire alarm sends her and Jack and the hotel's other guests to the lobby. Later, a rare lace tablecloth on display at the castle disappears. Legend says it was made by May Reilly in the early 19th century, but because May was never paid for her work, her ghost haunts the castle. Jack's receiving a note signed by two thieves he's been trying to track down in New York complicates matters, as do the efforts of an American couple to cheat a talented local artist. In an atmospheric mystery loaded with quaint characters, Clark gives the reader a unique tour of Ireland from narrow country roads to the city of Galway.

I really like this book because it reads like a Nora Roberts novel - easy to read, interesting story, and engaging characters.

I also liked the fact that this novel is crime fiction but doesn't include a gory, gruesome death or mauling of someone. Crime can involve more sublime themes yet still be intriguing.

"The Unquiet" by John Connelly

by Adrienne Kelsey

Ok, so I started reading this novel by John Connelly called The Unquiet and at first I couldn't put it down. The prologue is obscure and leaves you with a feeling of intrigue as to how it will be applicable to the rest of the story. John Connelly's eloquent writing is very easy to read. You quickly get engulfed in the lives of these characters as you learn more about them and can almost feel what they are going through.

Let me give you the description of the book to give you an even closer insight into The Unquiet.

Daniel Clay, a psychiatrist alleged to have worked with a child-abuse ring, is missing and presumed dead. His grown daughter, Rebecca, is being stalked by an ex-con whose own daughter is missing. Rebecca hires Portland, Maine, investigator Charlie Parker to protect her and dissuade her stalker, a former contract killer named Merrick who is intent on either finding his daughter or avenging her death.

The case leads to a very dark chapter in Maine's rural history and to the still-operational remnants of a syndicate of highly organized child abusers. Connolly weaves elements of the supernatural into a disturbing, very dark tale.

Parker is haunted by the specters of his late wife and daughter as well as an ephemeral embodiment of death who offers both advice and warnings as the detective ventures ever deeper into the darkness of the real world and his own soul. The disquieting subject, coupled with Connolly's dark, lyrical prose, will leave unshakable images lurking on the edge of the reader's consciousness.

So after reading all this, you are probably wondering why in the world would I stop reading this book?! Alas, my pathetic reason is that it is too intense for me. I know ... go ahead and say it ... "I'm a sissy". Not you ... me. I don't know why, but before I had children I could handle anything crime fiction that came my way. And now, I just can't seem to handle it at all.

So here's my plan from now on ... instead of abandoning this blog, I'm going to change it up a bit. Whenever one of the publishers associated with Reel Girls Media puts a new crime fiction novel on my desk, I will research the web for reviews from others that have already read the book and provide these reviews to you (as long as I deem them credible of course!).

If you think this is a good idea, let me know. If you think I should scrub this blog altogether, let me know. ;-)

Otherwise ... getting back to The Unquiet ... I ABSOLUTELY recommend reading it if you are not of the faint of heart and enjoy a deeply involving story.

All the best.

"A Sweet Scent of Death" ... Not so much

by Adrienne Kelsey

So, after reading the description of this book I was thinking ... ok, this looks like it might be an interesting read. What do you think?:

From the award-winning, internationally acclaimed screenwriter of Amores perros, 21 Grams, and Babel, A Sweet Scent of Death is Guillermo Arriaga's tale of deception, passion, and violence fused together by the tragic killing of a young girl in a small Mexican village.

Early one morning in a deserted field, Ramón Castaños is confronted with the dead body of Adela, a lovely young girl, whom he had only admired from afar. Within an hour, rumor of the death of Ramón Castaños's girlfriend has spread to every corner of Loma Grande. This powder-trail of gossip ignites further violence when the villagers, thirsty for revenge, cast about for answers and hit upon the nomadic José Echeverri-Berriozábal, known as "the Gypsy." Honor then demands that Ramón must now live out his imaginary past in a brutal reality and prove his manhood by avenging Adela's cruel fate.

If you agree ... keep reading and you may be surprised by what I have to say.

I gave up reading this short, 160 page read after about 10 chapters. I thought this was going to be a crime fiction novel - especially considering the tag line - "A Sweet Scent of Death is Guillermo Arriaga's tale of deception, passion, and violence fused together by the tragic killing of a young girl in a small Mexican village." Dissapointingly, this novel is more like a soap opera twisted and gorified with unnecessary graphic details about a dead body found in a deserted field than a crime fiction novel. The amount of detail describing the dead girls' body and how it is decomposing is far more than I care to read about - thank you very much. Trust me ... seriously overkill.

In addition, the way the lead character, Ramon Castanos, is sucked into avenging the death of this girl is so completely rediculous that I find it hard to believe anyone would continue to read this book beyond the point I have reached. Essentially what happens is that, within an hour of finding the girls' body, a rumor starts that she was Ramon's girlfriend (which she wasn't). Honor then demands that Ramon must now live out his imaginary past in a brutal reality and prove his manhood by avenging Adela's cruel fate.

Now, how's that for rediculous! Who the hell would go along with a rumor if they knew that, by doing so, would put their life at risk? Especially if they don't have any personal connection to that person and/or are not a member of law enforcement? Seriously ... I know this is fiction but give me a break!

All in all ... I would say pass on this one. There are FAR better crime fiction novels out there than wasting your time on this one.

Instead try the new one I'm reading ... The Unquiet by John Connelly. Two chapters into this one and I'm already finding it hard to put down.